The Armors Unite
by Destiny and Fate 4ever
Summary: The Sailor Scouts gain new allies (and perhaps some new love interests?) as they enter a fight against a new evil. Book two of seven of the Universal Warriors, Crossover with The Ronin Warriors. Completed!
1. The Two Worlds Collide

Hi Everyone!  Welcome to the first chapter of The Armors Unite.  If you haven't yet read the Mystical Warriors, please read that first, or you may not understand this as well.  As this is already a fully completed Book  (actually, we're working on Book 5 of the seven planned!), I'll try and keep updating this regularly, but I am a very busy college student, so please, be nice!  If you like this, please, tell us so.  We haven't gotten a single review yet, so come on, be reviewer number 1!  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this! ~ Destiny Babe

_Italics represent internal thoughts from the characters._

*We do not own Sailor Moon or The Ronin Warriors.  We do own this story and this plotline.  Please ask before using either the ideas or the story anywhere else!  Thank you.*

The Two Worlds Collide

-July 5, 1998-

Mia walked toward her jeep, carrying 4 bags of groceries.   _One of which is for Kento_, she thought.  Feeding 5 teenage boys and herself had her going out every other day for groceries.  But somehow, that thought comforted her.  It meant to her that the Dynasty was gone and she could live her normal life with her 5 friends.   _Well, four friends and a crush._  

Yes, she hated to admit it, but she was in love with Ryo.  She didn't know what it was, but there was something about him that drew her to him.  _I think it's his passion for everything that draws me to him.  He puts everything he has into everything that he does._  She was turning the corner off of one of the busy streets of Toyama when she came upon the strangest sight she had ever seen.  A girl, no taller then 5 and a half feet with two ponytails that streamed out from two buns on the top of her head, was challenging what looked like a Dynasty Soldier.  _Oh no, that poor girl is going to get herself killed!_

"Come on fight me.  Are you too cowardly to fight a girl?  Come on and I'll show you what a real fight is.  Power of the Moonlight!"  A bright light surrounded the girl and when it faded, she was wearing sub-armor like the guys, except hers was different.  The color on her sub-armor was silver and there was less color.  On her chest was a silver crescent moon with the points facing up.  Mia couldn't believe what she was seeing.  _A female Ronin Warrior?  She was so shocked that she dropped her grocery bags, spilling food over the ground._

***  
Serena was walking to the bus station to go home.  She had been visiting distant relatives in Toyama and was going home from a two-week stay.  She was almost to the bus station when she saw a youma dressed in armor.  _Great, just when we thought they were gone_.  The Mystical Warriors had defeated Queen Beryl a year ago, when she was 14.  She was now 15 and hadn't worn her sub-armor in a year.  Until now.  

Now in her sub-armor, she charged the youma, punching it in the face and kicking it in the stomach, sending it back a few steps.  The few moments that it took the youma to gain its balance gave Serena enough time to call her armor.  "I call upon the armor of the Moonlight!  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"  Suddenly, swirls of moonlight and wind blew around her.  The wind scooped up her two ponytails, forming them into full buns at the top of her head.  The moonlight swirled around her legs, arms, and torso, creating armor.  Then, the light gathered in front of her face, creating a helmet, which she picked up and put on.  Then, a bolt of moonlight shot down in front of her and created her staff that held her Silver Crystal.  

The armor that Serena wore was silver.  It had a tunic-like breastplate that covered the front and back of her torso, going no lower then her waist and no wider then her shoulder joints.  Covering her forearms were silver gloves that covered her elbow to her wrist perfectly, then only covered the top of her hand, a break in the gloves at the wrist so she could move her hands.  From her knees down were silver boots and on her chest was a white crescent moon.  Her helmet was white with two silver horns that formed her symbol, a silver crescent moon.  Holding her staff above the ground, she called out, "MOONLIGHT CRYSTAL!" as light entered the crystal.  Then she pointed the crystal at the youma and shouted, "ILLUMINATION!" and light came out in a beam directed at the youma, killing it instantly.  

Serena looked shocked at what just had happened  "That was too easy.  Youmas never die after I use my weak attack on them."  Suddenly, a portal appeared in the sky and Serena looked at it to find two faces staring down at her.  "Who are you?" Serena cried out.  One of the people was a gorgeous woman, who laughed calmly at her and said, "I am Queen Metallia and I am almost ready to fight you, Serena of the Moonlight.  You may have beaten my lackey, Queen Beryl, but you won't beat me.  In the mean time, I'd like you to meet my 5th general, General Talpa."  Serena gasped.  "General Talpa?  Bearer of the armor of Life?"

"Yes," Talpa said, "And I have come to serve my Queen in her battle to destroy you and your friends.  So long…" and the portal disappeared.  Behind Serena, there was a gasp.  Serena detransformed into her regular clothes and turned around to find a woman about as tall as Celia with long auburn hair and blue eyes, staring at her with shock.  "Hello," Serena said, "What you have just seen here is…"

"Are you a Ronin Warrior?" the woman asked.  Serena was taken aback by that question.  "What?" she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  Let me introduce myself.  My name is Mia and I want to know if you're a Ronin Warrior?"

"No, but do you know them?"

"Know them?" Mia scoffed, "I live with them.  Well, if you're not a Ronin Warrior, then what are you?"

"I'm what's called a Mystical Warrior.  It's like a Ronin Warrior, except a little different."  Serena looked at the ground around Mia and said, "Oh, you dropped your groceries.  Here let me help you pick them up.  By the way, my name is Serena."

"It's nice to meet you Serena.  And thank your for helping me with the groceries.  Could you help me carry them back to my car?"

"Sure."  Mia and Serena walked the groceries back to Mia's car when Serena suddenly realized about her bus.  "Oh-no!  Mia, do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's 3:40.  Why?"

"Oh great, my bus to take me home left at 3:30.  Now I have no way of getting home."

"I'll take you home.  Where do you live?" Mia asked Serena.

"Tokyo.  No really it's ok.  It's really too far out of your way…"

"It's no problem.  How about I drive you home in return for telling me about the Mystical Warriors and for helping me with my groceries?  Sound ok to you?"

"Sounds fine."

"Ok, but we have to drop these groceries off at my place.  Even though the guys aren't there, Kento will be mad if he doesn't have food when he gets home."  That name triggered something in Serena's memory.  Kento, hmm.  Isn't that the name of one of the kings?  The one Lita always says she's going to meet?   "Excuse me for being rude, but what are the names of the guys you live with?"

"Um, Ryo, Sage, Cye, Kento, and Rowen.  Why do you want to know?"  Oh my god, they're the 5 young kings that Celia was talking about!   Serena bit her lip and said, "Oh, no reason.  Just curious."  

"Oh," Mia said, putting the groceries in the trunk of the jeep.  Serena followed suit and put the two bags that she was carrying next to the other two.  Closing the trunk, Serena climbed into the passenger seat that Mia had just unlocked.  Starting the car, Mia drove off towards her place.  

***  
On the way to Mia's house, Serena had told her story of her adventures with the Mystical Warriors and Mia had told Serena about the Ronin Warriors.  Serena asked if Mia knew of the story of the Ronin Armors and when Mia told her the version she knew, Serena said, "That's just part of it," and explained the rest of the story.  Mia was flabbergasted when she found out that Ryo, Sage, Cye, Kento, and Rowen were actually the souls of 5 young kings from the time of the Silver Millennium.  Mia was even more surprised when she found out that Serena and her friends were Princesses of other planets during the time of the Silver Millennium.  By the time they arrived to drop off the groceries, Mia didn't think she could take any more surprises.  They dropped off the groceries at Mia's house and while Mia was putting things away, Serena was looking at pictures.  When she finally came across a picture of 5 young guys, posing for the camera, with triumphant smiles on their faces, she had to ask Mia about it.  "Hey Mia!"

"Yeah Serena?"

"What's this picture of?"  Mia walked into the room and looked at the picture Serena was looking at.  "That's of the Ronin Warriors."

"Which one's which?"

"Well from starting from right to left is Rowen, our blue-headed genius…"

"You have one of those too?"

"Huh?"

"We have a blue-haired genius.  Except mine is female.  Yours is male.  Continue."

"Then we have Kento…"

"The walking garbage disposal as you told me."

"Cye, Sage and Ryo."  Mia's finger, which had been moved along the glass covering the picture, lingered shortly on Ryo's form in the picture.  Serena caught the look in her eyes and said, "You like him, don't you?"

"What?"

"You like Ryo.  I can see it in your eyes."

"How do you know?"

"Because the look your giving that Ryo character is the same way my boyfriend looks at me.  Admit it, you like him."

"Ok, but you're the first one to hear me admit it."  Mia drew in a shaky breath and said, "I'm in love with Ryo.  Now, promise you won't tell anybody."

"I promise.  I won't tell anybody.  Except for Darien."

"Who's Darien?"

"My boyfriend.  But don't worry, he won't tell anyone.  If he does, I'll make him pay.  He doesn't like it when I make him pay 'cause I ignore him and he hates that.  So you don't have to worry about him telling anyone."

"Thanks.  Ooh, look at the time.  We better get you home."

"Ok," Serena said.  Taking one last look at the picture, she smirked.  They'll all meet soon. She thought before walking out of the house and back into the car, where Mia was waiting to take her home.

***  
By the time Mia had dropped Serena off at her house, it was about 7:30.  "Wow, nice house."

"Thanks, but it's not mine.  It's my friend's.  All of us live in the same house."

"Oh, I see."  There was a pause in the conversation before Serena said hesitantly, "Hey Mia?"

"Yeah?"

"If this Talpa guy is as bad as you say and if he's joined up with Queen Metallia, who is really bad, then we could use all the help we could get.  How about you bring the Ronin Warriors over so we can train together and beat these people."

"Well, I don't want to impose…"

"We have plenty of space.  With 20 bedrooms, I don't think you can go wrong.  Will you do it?"

"Yeah, I'll tell the guys about it.  When do you want us to come?"

"I don't know.  Whenever you want."

"How about 12:30 tomorrow.  Does that work for you?"

"Sure does.  See you tomorrow, Mia.

"Ok, bye."  Serena smiled at Mia and climbed out of the car and walked towards the front door.  Turning around, she waved to Mia as she drove out of the drive way and back towards her own home.  Opening the door, Serena walked straight upstairs and went right to bed, exhausted from her fight earlier in the day.  Normally, she wouldn't be so tired, but she hadn't fought in a year.  After getting ready, she climbed into bed and completely forgot to tell anyone that they were going to have company the next day.

***  
When Mia got home, it was about 10:00.  And all the guys were waiting for her in the family room.

"Hey Mia, where were you?" Kento asked.

"I was dropping a friend off at home.  Guess what."

"What," Sage said, "Do you have news for us?"

"Yep, guess who I met today?"

"Who?" they all said.

"Another Ronin Warrior," she said bluntly.  

"What?" exclaimed Ryo.

"Another Ronin Warrior?  Are you sure?" Cye asked.

"Is there trouble?" Rowen asked.

"Yes, it's another Ronin Warrior.  Actually, I believe the phrase they used was Mystical Warrior, but it's the same thing, only a little different."

"How so," Ryo asked.

"While your powers come from elements on Earth, the Mystical Warriors powers come from their planets."

"Planets?"

"Yup and you guys are meeting them tomorrow.  There's a new threat.  Talpa's back, but he's serving someone named Queen Metallia and the Mystical Warriors need our help.  So, be ready to go by 11:00 tomorrow morning.  We have to be there by 1:00 and they live an hour and a half away.  I'll see you all tomorrow."  Mia walked upstairs, listening to the guys talk amongst themselves.  For some reason, she was reluctant to tell them that the Mystical Warriors were girls.  _Well, they'll be surprised tomorrow when they meet them. _ She thought, smiling as she went to get ready for bed. 

***  
Serena woke up and looked at the clock.  Her eyes widened and she said, "11:30!  My god, they're going to be here in an hour and I haven't told the others yet.  They are going to murder me!"  Serena rushed out of bed, got dressed, and ate in a half an hour.  "Ok now I just have to find the others.  Easier said than done."  After an half an hour of searching, she had only found Alex, Michelle, and Celia, who were now helping her look for the other five.  At 12:30, the doorbell rang.  Rushing to the nearest intercom, she said, "Hello?"  
"Hey, it's Mia.  Can I come in?"

"Sure, just walk in.  I'll be down there in a minute."   Switching off the intercom, she frantically continued her search for her friends.

***  
Mia drove down the street towards where Serena's house was and all the guys were looking out the window in fascination at all the houses out there.  "They're all mansions!" Rowen exclaimed, "They must be really rich."

"I think so," Mia said.  Pulling into Serena's driveway, the guys all were amazed at the house that they were going to be staying at.  It was a 4-story mansion that was a coral-color on the outside with white trim.  The house was surrounded by woods that seemed to go on forever.  "This is where we're staying?" Kento asked.

"Yep," Mia said.

"It's beautiful," Cye said.

"I don't think I'll ever want to leave," Sage said.  Mia parked the car in the driveway, turned the car off and exited the car, getting her bag out of the trunk.  The other guys did the same and followed her to the front door.  Mia rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.  

Suddenly a voice came out of the speaker of the intercom that was by the doorbell.  "Hello?" the voice said.  The voice was so muffled, that you couldn't tell if the person who was talking was a male or female.  "Hey, it's Mia.  Can I come in?"

"Sure, just walk in.  I'll be down there in a minute."  Mia knew that the voice was Serena because it sounded like it had expected them.  Mia opened the front door and walked in.  The other guys walked in and Cye closed the door behind him and whistled at the size of the place.  The front hall was huge and the walls adorned with pictures, although Ryo was the only one who took up an interest in the pictures.  

As he scanned down the line of pictures, he saw a blond-haired girl with two ponytails sleeping on a couch, a girl with olive green hair holding up two outfits with a dressing room in the background.  _Obviously taken at a department store.  He thought.  He also saw a turquoise-haired girl holding a violin, a girl with short blond hair leaning against a car, a smaller girl with short black hair wearing a Candy Striper uniform, a girl with long black hair, meditating in front of a fire, _ There's one for Sage,_ he thought, a girl with brown hair holding a cake platter with a cake on it in each of her hands, winking at the camera, and a girl with long blond hair with a red bow painting a picture of a lake.  The last picture however, caught him by surprise.  It was a girl with short blue hair, curled up in a big chair in front of a fire, reading a book as big as her palm with a small, satisfied smile on her face.  "Hey Ro," Ryo called out to Rowen.  Rowen turned to look at him.  "What?"_

"Come look at this."

"What is it?"

"A blue-haired girl reading a book in front of a fire."  Rowen walked over to the picture and gasped.  The girl in the picture was absolutely beautiful.  "Wow," Rowen found himself saying.

"You like her?"

"She's gorgeous.  But she probably has a boyfriend, or something."

"I'm sure," Ryo said.  He was going to say more when the olive-green haired girl, the girl with the short blond hair, the girl with the turquoise hair, and the girl with the long, blond ponytails came walking into the front hall from different directions.  The girl with the blond ponytails said to the short blond girl, "Did you find them Alex?"

"Nope, sorry Serena."

"Michelle?" Serena asked the turquoise haired girl.

"Nothing."

"Celia?" Serena said to the olive-green haired girl.

"Sorry."  Serena groaned in frustration, pinching her sinuses.  

"Where could they all be?"  Suddenly, Serena looked up and noticed Mia and the 5 guys for the first time.  "Oh, hello.  I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting too long.  We're just trying to find everybody, but in this house, that's a little hard to do.  I'm Serena.  And this is Alex, Michelle, and Celia."  Right then, the small girl with the short black hair decided to bounce in.  "Hey Serena.  What's going on?  What's with the people?"

"Heather, have you seen the others?"

"No, but I know where they are."

"Ok, where's our blue-headed genius."

"Ami's in her secret reading spot."

"Okay, and where's our meditating pyromaniac?"

"Raye is in meditating at her shrine."

"And Lita?"

"Down in the pantry, looking for more flour."

"And Mina?"

"Finishing her painting of the lake in the art studio.  Want me to go get them?  It's really easy.  We had a new intercom system installed while you were gone.  Watch this."  Heather walked over to the intercom and pressed a button.  "Hey Raye, Ami, Lita, and Mina.  Get your butts down to the front hall on the double!" she yelled at a loudspeaker sounding throughout the house.  "That's good idea," said Serena, "Who thought of that?"

"I did," Heather said.

"Oh," Serena said.  Almost immediately after Heather called the girls through the intercom, a girl with her brown hair in a ponytail walked into the front hall.  "Ok, could someone tell me what's going on?"

"Hello Lita, we have guests we want you to meet."  Lita turned around and said, "Oh, hello."  From the moment he saw her, Kento knew he was in love.  Her presence was tall and commanding, but she looked to be a gentle person.  She was beautiful with her brown hair and green eyes, but what attracted him to her was that she had a few flour smudges that were on her face from cooking.   _A girl who can cook._  I think I'm in love_.   Serena was about to tell Lita who their guests were when Mina strode into the front hall.  Mina's face was smiling as usual, but took on a look of confusion upon seeing the 6 new people standing in her front hall.  "Hey Serena, what's up with the people?"_

"You'll find out.  Now say hello."  Mina smiled genuinely and said, "Hello.  I'm Mina."  She looked at all of the people standing by her door and stopped when the guy with the auburn hair seemed to be staring at her.  A chill ran up her spine and she softly smiled at him.  While this was happening, Cye didn't think he could smile back.  When Mina walked into the room, Cye knew he had never seen a more beautiful girl, from her long golden hair, to her deep blue eyes that shone with inner beauty.  He looked her up and down and stopped when he got to her fingers, which were covered in paint.   _An artist!  How wonderful!   Cye loved to paint too and found that all of the girls that he had met had no passion for art.  Suddenly, Cye and everyone else were broken out of their reverie when they heard a voice call, "SERENA!  I know that was you on that intercom!  You better have a good reason for taking me out of my meditation.  You know I don't like to be disturbed!"  A girl with purple-black hair stomped into the front hall wearing a priestess outfit that were red bottoms and a white long sleeved shirt.  She was a little taller then Serena and had dark violet eyes.  And Sage was captivated.  Never before had he seen someone with that much passion flowing through them.  He had never met a girl who liked to meditate and who had purple eyes, like his.  Sage had liked a lot of girls in his time, but he was sure that what he instantly felt for this meditating goddess was something different, something like love.  "Raye, Raye, Raye.  You know I wouldn't bring you out of your meditation if it weren't important.  Now turn around and look at who's behind you."  Raye slowly turned around and immediately calmed down.  "Oh, hello.  If you haven't heard, I'm Raye and welcome to our house."  Her voice was so gentle and polite that Sage wondered if that voice and the one he heard before were the same person.  Sage was staring and when Raye caught him staring, she smiled and winked at him, causing Sage's cheeks to turn a light pink.  Serena looked at her watch and impatiently tapped the floor with her foot.  "One more to go…"_

"Oh Serena!" a girl coming down the stairs cried.

"Yes Ami?" Serena yelled back.

"Is there reason why you woke me up and brought me downstairs?"

"You were sleeping?"

"Yes, I was."

"I'm sorry, but if you didn't stay up until all hours of the night, studying or reading, maybe you wouldn't be tired during the day."

"You know I'm a night owl, Serena."  Ami had come down the second flight of stairs and turned to go down the first flight. 

"I know you're a night owl and I'm really sorry that I woke you up, but this is important."

"What's so important?"

"We have guests!" Serena exclaimed proudly, "And they're a lot like us, too!"  Ami was half way down the stairs when the shadows covering the stairs finally ended and everyone got a good look at her.  The way she walked down the stairs almost seemed like she was floating.  Her blue hair was rustled, telling the truth that she was just sleeping, and her blue eyes shone with intelligence that none of the Ronin Warriors had seen in anyone except in Rowen.  

But what caught them was her blue hair that was the same shade as Rowen's.  All the guys and Mia turned to look at Rowen, who was staring at Ami.  If he thought she was beautiful in her picture, then she was gorgeous in person.  Rowen couldn't find the words to describe her and he didn't think that any words could do her justice.  She skipped down the last couple of steps and stood next to Raye.  When she stood next to Raye, the guys noticed that the girls were standing in a straight line that started with Ami and ended with Heather.  The order went: Ami, Raye, Mina, Lita, Serena, Alex, Michelle, Celia, and Heather.  Rowen stood across from Ami, who wasn't looking at him, but at Serena, Sage stood across from Raye, Cye stood from across Mina, and Kento stood from across Lita.  Ryo and Mia were standing close together, a little apart from the other Ronin Warriors.  

Serena smiled and said, "Mia, how about you start with the introductions?"  Mia smiled and said, "Sure," and took a breath and was about to start when the doorbell rang.  Serena walked over to the intercom and said, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Darien, can you let me in?"

"Sure, Darien.  Just walk in.  You're just in time to meet our guests."  She turned off the intercom and Darien walked in and went straight for Serena.  Smiling, she kissed him briefly and said, "Now you can meet our company."  Serena took her place back in line and left Darien standing next to Heather.  "Ok, you start again.  Sorry for the interruption," Serena said to Mia.

"It's no problem.  My name it Mia and the guys standing next to me are the Ronin Warriors."

"The Ronin Warriors?" all but Serena said.

"Yep," Mia said.

"Wait," Darien said, "You said you're name is Mia.  Have we met before?  I feel as if we've met, but I can't be sure."

"No I don't think so."

"Oh, it's probably nothing."  Ryo stepped forward a little bit and said, "I'm Ryo of the Wildfire."

"I'm Kento of Hardrock."  Lita gasped unnoticeably.

"I'm Cye of the Torrent."  Mina smiled at him.

"I'm Sage of the Halo."  Raye took in his lavender eyes and thought of her dream.

"And I'm Rowen of the Strata."  Raye looked at Ami, who had turned a light pink, and slapped her on the arm lightly.  "You owe me $20 bucks," Raye said to Ami.

"What?  That was a year ago when we made that bet.  And you still remember?"

"Absolutely."  A year ago, Raye bet Ami that 'King Rowen' would have blue hair and Ami said that when that happened, she would pay Raye $20 dollars.  "Now, pay up."  Ami sighed and reached into her pocket for a 20-dollar bill.  Reluctantly, she handed it over to Raye, who smiled triumphantly.  

Everyone looked confused and Rowen said, "Did I miss something?  What was that all about?"  Raye looked at him and said, "Just a friendly wager that Ami and I made a year ago."  Suddenly, the rest of the Mystical Warriors and Darien remembered the bet that Raye told them about that she and Ami had made when they were looking for Serena in Queen Beryl's castle a year ago.  "And what was that wager about?" Rowen asked.  Ami smiled conspicuously and said, "Royalty and their hair color."  That answer confused the Ronin Warriors and Mia laughed lightly, knowing what the Ronin Warriors were in the past.  Ryo turned to Mia and said, "What?  What's so funny?"

"You'll find out soon enough.  Now that we did our introductions, it's time for yours."  Ami smiled and said, "I'll go first.  Now, speaking of royalty, I'll give you all my official title, as I'm sure the others will too.  I am Princess Ami, bearer of the armor of the Artic, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Mercury."

"I am Princess Raye, bearer of the armor of the Phoenix, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Mars."

"I am Princess Mina, bearer of the armor of the Heavens, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Venus."

"I am Princess Lita, bearer of the armor of Lightning, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Jupiter.

"I am Princess Alexandra, or Alex, bearer of the armor of the Earth, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Uranus."

"I am Princess Michelle, bearer of the armor of the Seas, and defender and heir to the throne of the planet Neptune."

"I am Princess Celia, bearer of the armor of Time, defender of the planet Pluto and the Time Gate, and heir to the throne of the planet Pluto.

"I am Princess Heather, bearer of the armor of the Gods, defender of the planet Saturn and of life and death, and heir to the throne of the planet Saturn."

"And I am Princess Serena, bearer of the armor of the Moonlight, defender and heir to the Moon Kingdom.  And this my friends, is my royal court."  She spread her arms out wide and all the guys were awed that they were standing in front of royalty.  The guys were unable to speak.  Never before had they met royalty, now they were meeting nine princesses, who happened to be princesses of 8 of the planets and the Moon.  Little did they know that they were royalty, too.  Ryo then noticed Darien and said, "Who are you?  Do you have an official title?"

"Yes.  I am Prince Darien, defender of the Moon Kingdom, and heir to the throne of one of the 10 kingdoms of Earth.  And to you, King Ryo, I bow."  All the guys were taken aback while Darien gave a little bow in Ryo's direction.  "King Ryo?" all the guys exclaimed.  

"You mean you don't know?" Darien said, now worried that he had spilled a big secret that they weren't supposed to know about.  Serena sighed and said, "Celia, you better tell them or else they'll be really confused."

"Yes, Moon Princess.  Let's go upstairs and I'll explain everything to you."

~Ok, so I know some of you may be thinking "what the heck are they on?"  I promise, things will become more clear as we progress!  Hope you enjoyed it! ~DestinyBabe


	2. The First Battle is Fought

Hi!  It's me again.  I just wanted to send a personal thank you to neverendingtale and hawek, for putting our story on their favorite authors' lists.  Now, on to the chapter!  Hope you enjoy it! ~Destiny Babe

-July 6, 1998-

"Celia, you better tell them or else they'll be really confused," Serena said.

"Yes Moon Princess.  Let's go upstairs and I'll explain everything to you."  Turning around, Celia started to walk up the stairs.  The Mystical Warriors and Darien followed, but Mia and the Ronin Warriors couldn't move.  Serena, who was last one ascending the stairs, turned around and said, "Why aren't you coming?"  When she didn't get an answer, she called to her friends, "You guys go on up.  I'm going to show them to their rooms."

"Ok," Celia said, "But don't take too long."

"I won't."  Tuning back to them, she said, "You guys are confused and scared, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?  I'm not scared of anything," Kento said indignantly.

"You're not willing to accept that you guys have past lives."

"Past lives?" the Ronin Warriors said.

"Yep, we all do.  I mean I was surprised when I found out that I was the Moon Princess, destined to rule the Moon Kingdom.  I had a really hard time accepting it, especially because I didn't have any memories of that time, but slowly, my memories came back and yours will too.  Now come on, there's something else bothering you guys, but not you, Ryo, the other four.  What is it?"

"You mean besides the fact that I think I'm in love with Lita?" Kento said.

"Ah, you like my friends.  Let me guess.  Cye, you like Mina right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"You guys seem like you'd go together.  And Sage, you like Raye?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Because Rowen definitely goes with Ami because of the blue hair thing, so that leaves Raye.  And you," she pointed at Ryo.  "I know who you like."

"Who?" Ryo said, daring her to say it.  She glanced at Mia and smirked, the looked back into Ryo's eyes and saw him nod slightly, so slightly that she was the only one who saw it.

"I'm not telling," Serena said, "But, now, I have to show you to your rooms.  Mia, you'll be staying upstairs with us and you guys will be staying on the second floor.  So, let me show you."  Walking up stairs, she was oblivious to the talking of the people following her.  "Can you believe they're all royalty?" Ryo said.

"Yes I can," Rowen said.  The girls they had just met were definitely royalty.  Rowen could tell by the way they held and conducted themselves and he'd only just met them.  "But," Rowen continued, "they also said you were a king.  What's up with that?"

"I don't know, I guess that's what's going to be explained," Ryo said.  Looking around, Sage started to wonder what rooms there were in the house.  "Hey Serena?" Sage said.

"Yeah Sage?"

"How many rooms are there in this house?"

"Well, we have 20 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a living room downstairs, along with a grand dining room, a large office, a small ballroom that was recently built, a small temple for Raye to meditate at, two family rooms, one on the second floor, on the third floor, a training room, a large kitchen, an art studio for Mina, and a library."

"A library?  Where is that?" Rowen asked.

"It's on the first floor.  We had that built about six months ago upon Amy's complaining that she didn't have enough room for all of her books.  So, we had a library built and all of the books that we have combined are in that library.  I'll show you where it is later, after Celia finishes telling you guys our story.  Why did you want to know?"

"Our favorite blue-haired friend loves to read," Cye said.

"Ah, then you'd get along really well with Ami.  We have a hard time dragging her out of the library sometimes."  They got to the top of the first flight of stairs and Serena stopped.  There was a family room that had a two large couches formed into a right angle.  From the family room was a long and wide carpeted hallway.  "You guys will be staying here.  Your rooms are almost exactly like ours, except ours are a little bigger.  It has all your basic stuff, bed, dresser, nightstand, closet.  You know, basic.  The rooms are arranged so that there is a bathroom connecting two bedrooms.  You guys can decide to have your own bathroom, or you can share.  It doesn't matter.  Choose your bedroom and meet us upstairs.  Come on Mia, I'll show you to your bedroom."  And with that, Mia and Serena left to go upstairs.  

The guys rushed to find a bedroom so they could join the girls upstairs.  For some reason, they didn't want to be apart from the girls for long.  They all chose their bedroom and when they went to open their door to the bathroom, it had turned out that Cye and Kento were sharing a bathroom, as were Sage and Rowen, and Ryo had his own.  But they didn't mind, they were used to this arrangement.  The good thing that if one wanted to use the bathroom while another one was, then they could just go to another bathroom on the same floor and use that one.  

They were all surprised at the size of the room, however.  Each room was about 20 feet by 20 feet.  The beds in each room were huge and each room had a fireplace.  The dresser in each room was actually a huge bureau and the closet was walk-in.  All of the rooms were basically the same, but Rowen's had a bookshelf built into his.  He looked around at the bookshelf and rested his hand on the nightstand, admiring the books, and felt something slide underneath his hand.  It was a paper that someone had written.  

Picking it up, he read the title.  "A Study of Physical Chemistry: by Ami Mizuno," he read out-loud.  His heart pounded in his chest and he looked back up at the bookshelf.  It was filled with books on science and math and literature and languages.  He turned to look on the bed found a book on metaphysics and the bed looked as if it had been used lately.   _Ami comes down here to read, doesn't she?  Those are her books and this is where she was sleeping when we came_.  Rowen felt a smile cross his face as he thought of Amy sleeping in the same bed that he was going to be sleeping in and the thought sent a chill down his spine.  His reverie was broken when Ryo knocked on the door and said, "Hey Rowen, let's go."  

"Yeah, let's go."

"Hey, your room is different then the rest of ours.  Yours has a built in bookshelf.  Why it that?"

"I don't know," Rowen lied, "Maybe it was used for storage.  But these rooms are nice, aren't they?"

"They sure are," said Sage, "I still don't think I'll ever want to leave this place.  I could live here forever."

"You're only saying that because Raye's living here," Kento said as they all gathered out in the hallway.

"Yeah," Cye continued, "Are you going to wine and dine her, then drop her like you've done with all the other girls?" Cye said, knowing full well his habits with girls.

"You know, if I end up going out with her, I don't think that'll happen.  There's something about her that I just can't put my finger on… Oh well.  Come on, we have to get upstairs or the girls will form a search party."  The others laughed and headed up the stairs, only to interrupt a private conversation…

***  
Serena led Mia up the second flight of stairs to see all the girls waiting for them.  "Where are the guys?" Raye asked,

"They're picking out their rooms," Serena said, "And I'm going to show Mia her bedroom, so if you'll excuse me…" and Serena led Mia down the corridor that led off to all the other bedrooms and stopped down at the end of the hall.  "You'll be sharing a bathroom with me.  The only room that is left upstairs is one that is connected to my room by a bathroom and I didn't want you having to share a bathroom with one of the guys, so I let you have this bedroom."  She opened the door and dramatically gestured for Mia to enter.  

Mia stared with her mouth wide-open at the room in front of her.  It was huge.  The bed looked as if it could easily hold four people, let alone one person.  There was a huge Persian rug covering a wooden floor and there was huge armchair sitting front of a fireplace.  There were nightstands on either side of the bed and there was a huge bureau that had many drawers and a small cabinet on the connecting wall to the door.  The closet was a huge walk-in closet.  The room by itself was about 30 feet by 30 feet and was about 5 times as big as Mia's old bedroom.  "Serena," she whispered, "I think I may just end up living here after this is all over."

"You know, if it's ok with the others, I don't see why we can't arrange for all of you to live here.  It's not like we're short on room, or anything.  Or money for that matter.  All of us are rich from inheritance money."

"Inheritance money?"

"We're all orphans, recently orphaned actually.  About two years ago, the Negaverse killed all of our parents, except for Lita's."

"Why not Lita's?"

"Because hers died in an airplane crash when she was younger.  But enough sad thoughts.  Just put your stuff down and let's go join the others."  Mia threw her stuff down on the floor and followed Serena back out to the family room where all the girls were discussing guys and Darien was just sitting there, smirking.  "Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Serena asked.

"4 certain kings." Raye, Lita, Ami, and Mina chimed.

"Ah, I see," Serena said, "And would these happened to be 4 of the kings downstairs?"

"Yes," all four of the girls said.

"Which one do you think is better Serena?" Ami asked.

"She keeps saying her blue-haired king is better, while I'm saying my purple-eyed king is better." Raye said.

"I think this is a personal opinion question that I don't have an answer for.  I think that all of them are the best for you, however," Serena said.  

"Well, no matter what you guys think, I think mine is cuter," Mina said.

"No way, mine is way cuter then yours," Lita said.

"Uh-uh, you guys are both wrong.  With my guy's hair, you can't go wrong," Ami said.

"That's because his hair matches your, you idiot.  My guy's eyes make my guy better then all of yours."

"Whose guys?"  The four girls turned to see the Ronin Warriors standing at the top of the stairs.  Ryo, who had asked the question, asked it again.  

"Um, no one," Raye mumbled.

"Yeah, no one you would know," Mina said, looking straight at Cye.  The girls sat down on a couch next to Serena and Mia and the Ronin Warriors took up the couch across from the girls that Darien was sitting at.  Celia, who was sitting on the middle couch with Alex, Michelle and Heather, said, "Ok, Ronin Warriors, I want you to listen to this history about the armors.  A long time ago, there was a kingdom called the Moon Kingdom, which ruled over the whole Solar System, except for the Earth.  The Earth was its own separate kingdom, but had good relations with the Moon Kingdom.  

"Towards the beginning of the Moon Kingdom, the moon and all the planets except for earth, decided to create its own armor to protect their planet.  The armor would choose a person and that person would go through training before wearing the armor.  The Earth had also created 9 armors for 9 out of its ten kingdoms.  The tenth kingdom was the kingdom that was sworn to help protect the Moon Kingdom.  That was the kingdom what Darien was born into.  But the other nine kingdoms had devised their own special armors that could be combined to form a special one.  Those armor were the armors of Wildfire, Halo, Torrent, Hardrock, Strata, Cruelty, Venom, Darkness, and Illusion.  

"Towards the end of the Sliver Millennium, the time period that the Moon Kingdom existed in, 5 of the kingdoms had their kings die unexpectedly, so their young sons had to take their places.  Those kings were King Ryo of the Wildfire, King Sage of the Halo, King Cye of the Torrent, King Kento of Hardrock, and King Rowen of the Strata.  You.  You are the souls of the kings a thousand years ago, reborn.  The other kings you already know.  King Anubis of Cruelty, King Sekhmet of Venom, King Cale of Corruption, and King Dais of Illusion.    
  


"The leader of these kings was King Ryo of the Wildfire, who was Princess Serena's cousin and betrothed to Darien's sister.  He requested help of the Moon Kingdom to create its own Mystical Armor to protect its planet so the Moon Kingdom helped and forged the nine armors into the armor of Life, the tenth armor of the Mystical Armors.  So now what was needed was for it to choose a bearer.  

"Eventually it chose and the whole planet rejoiced, for they now had someone to protect their planet.  The armor chose a common lord named Lord Talpa.  He trained and eventually wore the armor, but he was lured over to the side of evil and Queen Beryl, who wanted to destroy the Moon Kingdom.  She took away his power because she feared it and made him into one of her generals.  While all this was happening, we 9 princesses were chosen to wear the armors of our planets.  

"The leaders of the planet thought it to be strange that princesses were chosen to wear the armor and fight, but they didn't argue with the choice of the armors.  While we were training to wear our armors, Queen Beryl and her generals led an attack on the Moon Kingdom.  Had we been able to call upon the armors, we would have won, but we weren't ready and we were transported to the future, except for me because at the time, I was protecting the Time Gate and haven't been allowed to leave my post until a few years ago."

"So you're over a thousand years old?" Rowen asked.

"Yes, I am.  Please don't interrupt me.  Where was I?  Oh yes.  During the battle, the Negaverse started to lose and Talpa withdrew himself from the battle and hid until it was all over.  Then, after everyone, including Queen Beryl and her four other Generals, were transported to the future, Talpa reclaimed his armor, but he was really weak.  A nether world called the Evil Dynasty took him in and helped him build up his strength, hoping that he would lead them in conquering the world.  He did, but he lost to a monk with Ancient powers who defeated him and separated the armors into the nine original parts.  

"He arranged it so that when the time came, the kings who gave up their armor to create the armor of Life would be reborn and wear the armor against evil once again.  The armor of Life, as I'm sure you already know, can only be recreated by the person who bore the armor of Life last.  When the 9 Ronin Armors are combined and worn by the leader, then it's called the Armor of Inferno.  Now, we've all been reborn and need to fight together to beat Talpa and Queen Metallia, Queen Beryl's leader."

"What happened to Queen Beryl?" Cye asked.

"She was destroyed by Serena a year ago when we entered the Negaverse."

"Oh," Cye said.

"Yeah, it was an extremely hard battle, but…" Serena said.

"But what?" Ryo asked.

"You guys, we have trouble."

"Trouble?" came the unanimous question.

"Yes, a small army of youma are attacking the park again.  We have to go," She said, rushing down the stairs.  "Can she tell when there's an attack?" Rowen said.

"Yes," said Celia, "She's the only one of us who can do that and we're lucky that she can.  Now come on, we need to go."  All of them rushed outside where the Mystical Warriors transformed into their sub-armor.  The guys stared at them dumbfounded, but did the same, and together, they all started running towards the area of the youma attack, leaving Darien and Mia behind.  "Do they always do this?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately, but at least I get the house to myself when this happens.  With the enemies that they fight, I'm no use to them in my Tuxedo Mask form.  Anyway, I'll show you around," Darien said as they walked back into the house.  

***  
The Mystical and Ronin Warriors made it to the park in record time.  When they got there, there was, as Serena said, a small army of youma, basically making a mess out of the park.  There were about 100 of them, all charging in the direction of the Warriors.  "Ok everyone, armor up!" Serena yelled.  "I call upon the power of the Moonlight!  Armor of the Moonlight…"

"I call upon the armor of the Artic!  Armor of the Artic…"

"I call upon the armor of the Phoenix!  Armor of the Phoenix…"

"I call upon the armor of Lightning!  Armor of Lightning…"

"I call upon the armor of the Heavens!  Armor of the Heavens…"

"I call upon the armor of Time!  Armor of Time…"

"I call upon the armor of the Earth!  Armor of the Earth…"

"I call upon the armor of the Seas!  Armor of the Seas…"

"I call upon the armor of the Gods!  Armor of the Gods…"

"TO ARMS!"  Seconds later, the Mystical Warriors stood there, weapons in hand, ready to do battle.  Serena looked back at the Ronin Warriors, who still had not transformed.  "What are you guys waiting for?  Armor up!" Serena said.

"Right!" Ryo said.  "ARMOR OF WILDFIRE…"

"ARMOR OF HALO…"

"ARMOR OF TORRENT…"

"ARMOR OF HARDROCK…"

"ARMOR OF STRATA…"

"DAO CHI!"  The Ronin Warriors were armored up in seconds and assumed fighting stances, prepare to do battle.  As the youma charged them, Raye called out, "Yeah, that's right.  Come and get us!  Or better yet, I'll get you!  FIREBIRD FLARE!"  A firebird erupted from her hand and fried a couple of the youma.  "That did a lot of good, Raye!" Serena said sarcastically, "You only got rid of two!"

"Hey, at least it's two less that we have to deal with!"

"Good point."  They continued on fighting for about 10 minutes when suddenly, two little boys ran head first into the battle, not knowing what was going on.  A youma looked down and said, "Well, what do we have here?"  He dropped his weapon and picked up the two little boys who were trying to run away.  Their cries for help reached Serena and she turned to look at what it was.  When she turned around, she gasped.  "Hey, you big metal-head!  Put those kids down right now!"  The youma turned to her and smiled cruelly.  "What make you think I want to fight you when I can torture these kids, hmm?"  He dropped one of the kids and backhanded the other one with his now free hand.  The kid screamed as blood came out of many cuts on his face, cuts from the slashing of skin with metal.  

Serena growled and said, "Hey, at first I thought you were just a youma, but now I know you are truly the devil.  I may be able to stand up to you when you fight me, but that kid is defenseless and I won't stand for you hurting him.  You'll pay for that!  I call upon the armor of the Cosmos!  Armor of the Cosmos, TO ARMS!"  The other Mystical Warriors screamed as their powers left their bodies and went into her crystal, which surrounded her in a ball of light.  When the light faded, she was standing there in gold and silver armor.  The silver was still the same, but the white that was on her was now gold.  On her chest instead of her crescent moon was a nine-pointed star that had the colors of each of the nine armors at the point and she had white, metal wings attached to the backside of her armor.  

Standing her staff on the ground, she extracted the crystal from its place in the staff and raised her arms above her head, the crystal floating in between her hands.  The Mystical Warriors ducked and the Ronin Warriors looked at them confused.  "Why are you ducking?" Sage asked Raye. 

"Well, unless you want to get hit by youma parts, continue standing," she responded.

"What can a tiny crystal do?" Kento asked, thinking that a crystal the size of a baseball couldn't possibly do any damage.

"Just watch," Lita said and the Ronin Warriors ducked and watched what Serena was doing.  The crystal had been gathering light.  When the light was just below the point of blinding, she called out, "SUPERNOVA STRIKE!" and the light in the crystal exploded, creating a shockwave that spread for a mile radius.  When the light faded, Serena was standing there in her regular armor and the crystal was back in her staff, but there were no more youmas.  They had all been destroyed.  "Wow," the Ronin Warriors said.

"That's a lot of power coming from one person," Rowen said.

"Yes, but you have to expect it when she's holding the crystal that holds the power to destroy the Universe," Ami said.

"She can destroy the Universe with that thing?" Cye asked.

"She sure can," Ami continued, "She just needs more training.  Not that we want her to do it, but if her power was strong enough, then she could."  The Ronin Warriors just stared at Serena, almost afraid of the power she possessed.  Serena slumped down to her knees and Mina was the first one to get to her.  She put down her bow and put her arm around her shoulder, shaking Serena slightly.  "Hey Serena, you ok?"

"Yeah, I just haven't used that much power in so long, you know?"

"Yeah, I know.  I'm kinda tired, too."

"Yeah, but you didn't use the armor of the Cosmos."

"You got me there."

"Why?  How long has it been since you've used that armor?" Ryo asked.

"A year.  Trust me, when you don't use something like this in a long time, you tire quickly.  It's kinda like taking up running again after not doing it for a while.  You get tired easily.  All I need is rest.  Come on.  Let's go home."  Serena reluctantly picked her self up and began the walk home with the others following.  When they got back, they all dredged their way upstairs and went right to sleep.


	3. The Training Begins

-July 7, 1998-

Cye sat up wearily in his bed, looking around for a confused moment.  _Where am I?  When he felt how sore his body was, memories of the day before came flooding in.  Memories of the trip over, memories of the fight the day before, memories of Mina… _She is one gorgeous girl, if I ever saw one.  She's sweet, from what I've seen of her._  _

A rumbling in his stomach summoned him out of bed.  He got out of bed and rubbing one of his eyes, opened his door and walked out into the hallway.  When he shut his door behind him, he found the other guys just opening their door.  Sage, who was standing directly across from Cye, said, "I feel as if I haven't fought in years.  You guys?"  The others gave half-hearted signs of agreement and stretched.  Ryo yawned, which caused everyone else to yawn as well.  "Damn you Ryo," Kento said, "You know yawns are contagious.  Why couldn't you yawn elsewhere?"  

"Sorry, it was all of the sudden." Ryo said, not really feeling all that sorry.  Suddenly, Kento perked up and started sniffing the air.  Cye looked at Kento and put a worried hand on his shoulder, trying to shake him out of his daze.  "Kento, buddy, what is it?"

"I smell food," Kento said pointedly.  Rowen chuckled and shook his head.  "Kento, you could smell food if it were a mile away," he said laughing.  Kento held up a hand to stop any further talk and said, "It's-it's-it's French toast, pancakes, bacon, and rolls.  Come on guys, let's move it!"  Kento started down the hallway and gestured for the others to follow.  Ryo looked at the rest of the group and shrugged.  Sighing, he too started down the hall, the others following.  

When they got downstairs, Sage said, "Now it's just a matter of finding the kitchen in this place."  Kento face lit up like a little kid on Christmas and said, "Just follow me and let my nose and stomach be the guides."  The entire group, including Kento, burst out laughing, knowing all too well that Kento's stomach and nose could guide them to food if it was buried under a mountain.  

After a few twists and turns, they finally found their way down to the kitchen.  Kento eagerly pushed opened the swinging doors and stopped at the sight of platters and platters of food that littered the counter.  The other guys shoved Kento into the kitchen and pushed their way into the kitchen, where they all stopped to gawk at the food. 

Standing not two feet away from them, but out of their line of sight, was Lita facing the counter, busy finishing up a set of pancakes.  She looked at all of them and smiled appreciatively, for they weren't wearing any shirts, and said, "Well hello and how are we this morning?" slightly scaring the guys who hadn't seen her standing there.  Kento just looked at the food and answered in awe, "Just fine if you give us some food."  Lita laughed lightly and said, "Well then, you better get your butts out to the table.  No one eats until everyone's seated at the table."  The guys, except for Kento, rushed out to the table.  Kento just stood there, watching Lita as she methodically turned over pancakes one by one.  Overwhelmed by all the food, just waiting to be consumed, he breathed out, "Did you make all this food by yourself?"

"Sure did, bucko."

"Wow.  I didn't think that anyone could make more food then Cye can."

"How many people does Cye cook for?"

"Six."

"I cook for 9, sometimes 10 and now I'm cooking for 15.  I've learned to cook in large quantities."  She scooped the pancakes onto an almost full platter and turned off the stove.  Putting the spatula down, she rubbed her hands on her legs and picked up two of the platters, which were obviously too much for her to carry.  "Oh, here, let me help you."  

Kento rushed to take one of the platters from her hands and when he did, his fingertips brushed up against hers, causing her to blush and almost drop the other platter.  Kento froze when their fingers touched and looked up at her.  She was looking away with her cheeks colored a light pink and when she looked at him, green met blue and she too was frozen into place, but it was because she couldn't pull herself away from his eyes.  He looked away first and cleared his throat.  "I'll just, um, take, um, these out," Kento said before walking out of the kitchen, leaving a breathless Lita behind in his wake.

***  
When the guys walked out into the kitchen, the girls barely even spared a glance for them.  They were too wrapped up in their own conversation.  Celia was sitting at the head of the table and the girls were sitting in a row on one side of the table.  Next to Celia was Heather, then Michelle, Alex, Serena, Mia, Raye, Amy, and Mina, leaving a space for Lita at the end.  

The guys moved to sit down and ended up, as if drawn by an inevitable force, sitting across from the girl that they liked.  Ryo was sitting across from Mia, Sage across from Raye, Rowen across from Ami, and Cye across from Mina.  While they were wrapped up in their own quiet conversation, Raye, Ami, and Mina were stealing glances at the bare-chested guys sitting across from them.  Ami gave Rowen a quick up-and-down look, so quickly that he missed it and leaned over to Raye.  Whispering into her ear, Ami said, "It's going to be hard sitting across from Rowen this morning with him shirtless.  I'll be lucky if I even eat a bite, I'll be staring so much."

"I know exactly how you feel," Raye said dreamily, looking at Sage, who was oblivious to what was going on around him.  Mina leaned over and said quietly, "What are we whispering about?"  Ami looked at her and whispered, "Shirtless guys and how sexy they are."  Mina looked at Cye and turned back to the other two, waggling her eyebrows, smiling coyly.  "Sexy is definitely an understatement," she drawled out.  Rowen leaned over across the table and said, "What are you talking about?"  

In a synchronized movement, the girls leaned on their elbows, looked the guys up and down, and said, "Nothing," each with an eyebrow raised.  The three guys looked down at their shirtless forms and turned a light pink.  Ryo, who'd been watching the exchange, chuckled at the sight of the guys' light pink faces.  Sage turned to Ryo and hit him on the arm none too lightly.  Ryo immediately stopped laughing and said, "Hey, what was that for?"

"For laughing at me."

"What, it was funny!  I've never seen you blush before, Sage.  It's a very good look for you."

"You're dead," Sage threatened.

"Oh-no," Ryo said mockingly, "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Maybe later."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're on."  The argument stopped when Kento came bursting into the dining room, with a platter full of pancakes in his hands.  Ryo and Sage looked at each other with raised eyebrows and Rowen said, "Hey Kento, I didn't know you were our waiter."

"Shut up, Rowen," Kento barked out, "I'm helping Lita out."

"You're helping a girl?  You must be really gone over her," Cye said right before Lita walked into the room.  Kento looked at Cye with murder in his eyes if Cye repeat what he just said and walked back into the kitchen to get more food.  After all the food had been set down on the table, Lita and Kento sat themselves down and everyone started serving themselves.  "Wow Lita, did you make all this food?" Ryo asked.

"Yup, every bite.  Now eat up, you'll need the energy for training this morning."  The guys looked up from serving themselves and said, "What?"

"Oops," Mina said meekly, "I guess we forgot to tell you."

"We're having a training session after breakfast this morning," Serena said, "So be down in the training room at 10:00 sharp."

"Yeah," Raye said, "We don't want to miss seeing you guys fight.  We've been waiting to meet you guys for two years and we don't want to miss out now," she said, looking directly at Sage.  Sage smiled at her and started to eat along with everyone else and the rest of breakfast was basically silent.

***

The guys were sitting on the couch, waiting for the girls to finish upstairs.  The girls had complained that they needed showers, so they put off training for an hour so they could clean up.  The guys were all silent, deep in their own thoughts.  Sage was sprawled out on the couch, his feet resting on Rowen's legs, who was twiddling his thumbs.  Ryo was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch with his head laid back.  Cye and Kento sat on the other couch, sitting back to back, leaning against each other.  Sage sighed and said, "What do you guys think about us being kings?"  Ryo turned his head to look at Sage and said, "I think it's pretty cool."

"Yeah," Cye said, "I just wish I could get my memories back of that time.  It would be nice to have them."

"Yeah, but how do we know we can trust those girls?" Rowen said.

"Do you trust Ami?" Kento said slyly.  Rowen's only response was that he turned bright pink.  Cye looked at him and a wide grin split his face.  "I knew it!  You do like her!" Cye exclaimed.

"Of course I like her!" Rowen fought back.  "She's exactly like me, even down to the hair color.  How many people do you think I am going to meet that is as much like me as she is?"  Nobody had the time to agree when Mina came strolling down the hallway, towel drying her hair, wearing nothing but a towel and sopping wet from her shower.  

All the guys turned to see who it was and all blushed, Cye most of all.  Stopping, she gave a start and smiled.  "Oh, hello.  I'm sorry if I interrupted you.  I used one of the bathrooms down here since everyone was taking such a long time upstairs.  I'll give these towels back when I'm finished with them."  She was suddenly aware that everyone was staring at her and she too turned a light pink from embarrassment at being started at, not from being in a towel.  She was used to wearing clothes that barely covered everything when she modeled back in England.  Giggling, she turned and walked up the stairs, gliding past the guys.  Only Cye watched her until she was out of sight and when he turned back to the group, he found that everyone else was smiling at him.  "What?" he cried, still bright pink.

"You like her, you like her!" all of the guys exclaimed at once.  

"Does Rowen like Ami?" Cye shot back.  Rowen turned a light shade of pink as Kento started laughing.  Rowen turned to Kento and said in a low voice, "Shut up, Kento.  What about you and Lita, hmm?  I know you like her."

"I do not!" Kento whined.

"Ah, young love in denial," Sage mused.

"Be quiet, Sage," Kento yelled, "I saw YOU drooling over Miss Priestess."  Sage, like Rowen, had been caught red-handed and also turned light pink.  All of the guys turned to Ryo, who was on the couch laughing and said, "Hey, you like Mia, so shut up!"  Ryo immediately stopped laughing and said, "I know, I just don't know what to do about it."  The rest of the guys shut up and gave a nod of recognition at the problem that plagued Ryo because they had the same problem with the girls that they liked.  The group was silent again.  

5 minutes later, the girls, minus Mia, came down the stairs in their skintight sub-armor.  Well, at least the guys noticed that it was skintight, anyways.  "You ready to go?" Serena said enthusiastically.  "Sure am," Ryo said before transforming into his sub-armor.  The rest followed suit and looked at Serena in acknowledgement.  "Are you sure you're ready?" Serena said, hinting that they were up for a "fun" time.  The guys looked at each other and said simultaneously, "As ready as I'll ever be."  Serena smiled slightly and said, "Good," before bouncing down the stairs, leaving the other girls behind to shake their heads at the guys.  "What?" Sage asked, "Why are you shaking your heads at us?"

"You should have never said that," Mina said warningly.

 "Why?"

"Because Serena lives to make people eat their words, so to speak," Raye said, "And she'll have you feeling every muscle by the end of this afternoon.  Just pray she goes easy on you."  With that, the girls took off downstairs, the guys following and praying that they were ready for whatever Serena threw their way.  

***  
Mia, who was sitting on one of the couches on the second floor family room, looked up to see the Ronin Warriors walking up the stairs at literally a snail's pace.  As they climbed the stairs, they gave sounds of pain and weariness.  Eventually, they made it to the couch and collapsed.  "Aww, did you guys play a little too rough?" Mia teased them, laughing lightly at their situation.  "Shut up Mia," came the unanimous reply as the guys shifted their sitting positions.  

Rowen slowly lifted a hand and pushed his sweaty hair off of his forehead.  "'Know what I'm going to do?  I'm going to take a long shower and then go find the library and immerse myself in a book and never come out until I'm not tired."  Reluctantly, he got up and walked in the direction of one of the bathrooms.  The guys heard a door shut and click and then Cye said, "I'm not even going to shower.  I'm just going to go to the lake and soak myself in it and get powered back up."  
"I wish I could do that," Sage said, "but I'm going to shower and then find somewhere to meditate."

"Well, I'm hungry," Kento said.

"You're always hungry," Mia said with laughter in her voice.

"Yeah, well after I get cleaned up, I'm going to head down to the kitchen and find something to eat."

"And what about you Ryo?" Sage asked, but when he turned to Ryo, he found that Ryo lying on the couch next to where Mia was sitting, asleep.  "I guess he's going to sleep," Mia said, not really minding that he had chosen to fall asleep right next to her.  The other guys stood up, muttering something about leaving, and went their separate directions.  

***  
Ami briskly walked down a long corridor to Mina's art studio, which was right by the library, consequently.  She really needed someone to talk to about Rowen.  She'd only known him for a day and already, she really liked him.  In fact, she liked him so much that she couldn't get him out of her head.  She kept seeing him, standing in front of her when they'd first met the day before.  The look in his eyes as he looked at her was filled with awe and reverence.  Ami had truly never felt more special than she did when he looked at her.  

The other image that she kept seeing was his face hovering not 2 inches over hers during training that morning.  They had been sparring and he tripped her, hoping that would be the winning move, but she pulled him down with her and he landed on top of her.  Ami could swear that she felt the tension surround them like an electrical current.  She shook her head to try to clear it of thoughts of Rowen, but it was another try-and-fail attempt.  

She pushed open the door to Mina's art studio and found Mina packing up a canvas and some paints into a satchel.  "Hey Mina, where are you going?"  Mina looked up wide-eyed and said, "I was going to go paint outside.  In fact, I was thinking about doing another picture of the lake."

"Another picture of the lake?  You've done so many, though," Ami said, thinking about the various paintings of the lake that had been spread throughout the house.  In fact, there was one in her room

"Yeah, I know, but I like to paint it.  Anyway, what brings you down to this neck of the woods?"

"I need your advice."

"Do tell.  Advice on what?"

"I need to figure out how to get someone out of my head."

"That someone wouldn't happen to be Rowen, would it?"  Ami cursed under her breath.  "You know me too well, Mina."

"Well, I've only been living with you in this house for a little over a year, Ami, I think I should know your personality quirks.  Plus, I've cracked your code.  You can't get anything past me.  But, so you wanna get Rowen out of your head?"

"God, yes.  I mean, I really like him, but he has taken complete control of my thoughts.  It's like a CD with a scratch.  It can never get past that one part, no matter how hard it tries.  Well, that's my problem.  If my brain's a CD, then Rowen's the scratch."  Ami thought about that for a moment and crinkled her nose.

"That sounded awful.  I made him look like the enemy."

"Ami, I know you didn't mean it in a bad way.  Have you tried reading?"

"No…"

"Well, then go to the library and pick out a book and get lost in it.  It usually works for you.  I don't see why this is any different."  Her resolve built up, Ami said, "It's not any different.  In fact, that's what I'm going to do right now.  Have fun painting, Mina."

"Will do.  Have fun reading."  Ami tossed Mina a smile over her shoulder.  "You know I always do," Ami said coyly.  She strolled down to the library, her spirits already feeling calmed down with the solution she had planned out.  Read a book and forget about Rowen.  She pushed open the double doors to the library and she felt like a little kid on Christmas in a large room filled with books.  The room was big enough to be a large gym and Amy couldn't get enough of it.  She looked around at the bookshelves and then to the tables, armchairs, and couches that littered the library floor.  

She thought that this place looked classic with its large fireplaces with comfy armchairs or large, luxurious couches spanned in front of them.  She walked over to the large stepladder that she had made specifically for this room and wheeled it over to the shelf by the door.  Climbing to the top, she stood on her toes to see the top shelf and started to look through her choice of titles and subjects to find a book that would meet her wants.  Although she was concentrated on the titles, her mind still kept coming back to Rowen.  "Come on, you know you like him," a voice inside her head stated.

_Maybe I do, She thought._

"No maybe about it.  You really like him."

_Do not. _

"Do too."  
_Do not._

"Do too."

_Do not._

"You know, I won't shut up until you admit that you really like him."  Ami sighed.  _Fine, you got me.  I really like him.  Happy?_

"Very," the voice said, satisfied.  Ami was so lost in the conversation with the voice in her mind that she didn't hear a person walk into the library.  "Hello," came a voice, loud and clear.  She was startled by the person's greeting, not hearing the person enter the library in the first place, and her precarious balance atop of the ladder was lost and with a small scream, she toppled off of the ladder and prepared to hit the floor.

***  
After showering and dressing, Rowen patiently made his way down to the library, getting lost along the way.  After a few twists and turns, he realized that without the help of someone who knew the house well, that he wasn't going to find the library.  He found Heather, watering the plants that adorned one of the many hallways and approached her.  "Hey Heather, where's the library?"  She looked up at him and said, "Down at the end of this hall, turn left, and it's the last door on the right.  You can't miss it.  It's the only room on that hallway with a pair of double doors."

"Thanks."

"No problem," Heather said before turning back to watering the plants.  Rowen took his time in walking down the hall to the library, his thoughts dominated by Ami.  _She is stunning, inside and out.  She's eloquent, vivacious, intelligent, and absolutely beautiful.  And, God, she's strong.  When we were sparring, I wasn't so sure I could beat her and I didn't.  It was a draw.  And when I fell on top of her…the look in her eyes was absolutely priceless.  The shock, the surprise, I saw everything in her eyes and I didn't want to move._

He found the doors that Heather was talking about wide open, so he figured it was ok to enter the library.  He got two steps in when he stopped in awe and his jaw dropped.  The room was huge!  He swore that it was the size of a large gym, if not bigger than that.  His eyes scanned row upon rows of bookshelves, holding books that just begged to be read.  _With any luck, we won't ever leave here and I'll be able to bury myself completely in this room. _

He found a stepladder not 10 feet away from him and his eyes quickly shifted to see the top of the 40-foot ladder.  Someone was perched upon it and Rowen knew right away that is was Ami, judging from the hair color of the person that he saw.  Smirking and not believing his incredible luck, he called out, "Hello."  She obviously hadn't heard him come in and his words startled her.  She lost her balance and letting out a small scream, fell off the top of the ladder.  "Oh shit!" Rowen cried out as he moved to catch her.  

Her whole body was tensed up, ready to hit the ground, but when she felt the pair of warm arms encircle her, she opened her eyes slowly and looked to her left to find Rowen looking at her, worriedly and guiltily.  "You ok?" he said cautiously.  He felt really bad about making her fall and realized that if he hadn't had been any closer, she would have hit the ground hard and at least really hurt herself, if not died.  

He slowly set her down, but her arms wrapped themselves around his neck involuntarily, unconsciously looking for human contact.  He could feel her shaking as she stood next to him.  She had her head bent and he put his finger under her chin and tipped it up, looking down into her face.  "Are you going to be alright?" he asked, now more worried than ever.  She nodded as a couple of tears escaped from her eyes.  "Don't cry.  It's going to be alright."  He wiped away the tears with his thumbs and closed his arms around her, pulling her close, feeling the shaking subside.  She hugged him tight and he rested his chin on her shoulder, right where her neck met her shoulder, and allowed her scent to fill his lungs.  She smelled like lavender and peach.  _A weird combination, but for her, it fits_.  Ami held on tight and tried to get her breathing calmed down.  If Rowen hadn't been close enough to catch her, she probably would have died and that thought alone scared her more then she would like to admit.  She was thankful for the human contact, knowing that it was a sure sign that she was really alive.  

She felt Rowen's warm body pressed up against her and she felt herself calming down, but her heart was still pounding.  And it wasn't all from the fall.  He had that affect on her.  She felt really at ease with him, but at the same time, being close to him was enough to send her senses on a trip.  They stayed like that for a few moments, until Ami's hold on his neck loosened and she whispered in his ear, "Thank you." Pulling away from her, immediately missing having her so close, he said, "No problem, I'm just glad you're ok."

"Yeah, well that's what I get for standing on top of the ladder like that.  I should know not to do it, but I still do it anyways."  

Moving slowly over to the couch, she sat down.  Rowen followed her example and took the seat next to her.  "No, actually, it's not your fault.  I was the one who startled you and made you fall."  She smiled warmly at him and said, "No, I've been told not to stand on the ladder like that.  It's what I get for not listening."  A silence hovered over the two.  Rowen sighed and said, "So, I hear you're always down here."

"Um, yes.  This is my favorite room.  My friends have a hard time dragging me out of here."

"Yeah, I can relate.  My friends have a hard time getting me to leave a bookstore.  So, why do you love libraries so much?"

"Partially because they remind me of my mother.  She always used to take me to the library when I was little."

"You said 'remind you of your mother'.  Did something happen to your mother?"  Ami sucked in a deep breath and let it out shakily.  "Oh, a year ago, my mother was killed by the hands of a youma.  Serena, Raye, Mina, and I got called out to fight another youma, but it turned out that it was just a distraction brought on by Queen Beryl so she could kill our parents."  Tears started to trickle down Ami's face at the memory of her mother's death.  "When I found my mother, I could barely recognize her.  The youma had burned her so badly that I couldn't recognize her face."  

Ami couldn't believe that she was telling Rowen, a person she barely knew, things that she hadn't told anyone, besides the Mystical Warriors.  Ami pulled a chain out of under her shirt and held the two rings that were hung on the chain between her thumb and forefinger.  "This is all that I have left of my mother.  I found it in my safety deposit box.  She told me that she wanted me to have these."

"What are they?" Rowen asked, his heart clenching every time a tear rolled down her face.  

"They're my parents' wedding rings.  She put them in a box with a note, saying that she wanted me to have them for when I got married."  Her hand closed around the rings and her face crumpled into tears.  "I miss my mother so much, Rowen.  I want her back."  Rowen pulled her into his arms and hugged her to him as her body was overcome by heart-wrenching sobs.  "It'll be alright, Ami, I promise.  You'll grow up, fall in love, and live happily ever after, wearing your mother's wedding ring," he whispered into her hair, "I swear it."

***  
Mina drew in a deep breath as she made the short walk to the lake.  She looked around and marveled in the beauty of the forest around her; it never failed to amaze her.  She climbed over a small hill and found the lake, serene and sparkling in the sun.  Smiling at its beauty, she walked over to her small art shed that she had built out by the dock the past summer.  As she unlocked the shed, she thought about how much she had gotten into the whole art thing.  

After they all had beat Beryl, Mina had dove into the art scheme head on.  When she was younger, she liked to dab in the area of art, but she really got into it in the last year.  So much, in fact, that she begged for an art studio to be built along with Ami's library.  It was now her favorite room.  She couldn't remember a time when her fingers were void of any residue from an art supply that she had just used.  

She walked into the shed and took out a stand and a stool.  Placing both where she wanted them to be to paint the angle that she wanted, she went and got her satchel.  She sat on the stool and opened her satchel and took out her paints and a canvas.  She put the canvas on the stand and set up her paints.  She dipped her finger in the blue and began to paint the outline of the lake with her finger.  Her friends thought that she was funny because she preferred to use her fingers instead of a brush to do her paintings, but Mina didn't find it weird at all.  She felt that by using her fingers, she had more physical contact with the painting, therefore, pouring more emotion into it and she only used a brush when she needed to do more detailed work.  From what she had seen of her artwork, she thought she was right.  

She looked up from the canvas to look at the lake and all its splendid glory. _ That lake is so beautiful.  So calm, so peaceful.  It reminds me of Cye… no, stop.  That's why you came down here, remember?  To get Cye out of your head.  So, do that.  Paint._  She shook her head of all thoughts related to Cye and continued to paint.  

She was working peacefully for about five minutes when a bird landed on the top of her canvas and startled her.  She smiled as the bird stared straight down at her and chirped lightly.  Mina giggled as her heart calmed down and said, "Hello, there.  And how are we today?"  The bird chirped its response and Mina smiled.  She held out her finger and cooed softly.  "Come here little one, I won't hurt you."  The bird started flapping its wings frantically as Mina moved her finger slowly towards it and right before her finger touched its feet, the bird flew away.  

Mina sighed and said, "Oh well, maybe next time."  She shrugged and began to hum a random tune.  She was working peacefully but stopped when she heard the rustling of leaves behind her.  She slowly and cautiously turned around to see the person she was trying to get out of her head standing there behind her.

***  
Cye headed straight out of the house after the impromptu meeting with the guys upstairs and began to search for the lake, but he found himself getting lost.  When he found that he had been at this one place a couple times before, he stopped and tried to feel the power of the water, using his armor's power to find it.  He could feel it to his left and he turned to walk to the source of the power, following the hum of the water all the way.  The low, throbbing hum of the water's power became as intense as it was going to get and when he peered beyond the bushes to see the lake, he found something else.  

Or rather, someone else.  His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Mina.  She was breath-takingly gorgeous, sitting underneath a grove of tall trees.  The rays of sunlight that poked through the tree branches shined off her hair, making her glow slightly.  She was painting something with her fingers and from what Cye could see it was something blue, almost the color of the water in front of her.  It wasn't Mina that had him so captivated, although just looking at her could do it; it was the look on her face.  

She was looking at the canvas like it was a coveted object, like nothing else in the world mattered.  Her face was full of happiness and laughter and Cye found himself wishing that she would look at him like that.  She was startled when a bird landed on the top of her canvas and chirped at her.  "Hello, there.  And how are we today?" Mina asked the bird, a hint of a laugh in her voice.  The bird chirped back and Mina raised her hand, holding her finger out.  "Come here little one, I won't hurt you."  The bird flew off, leaving a bewildered Mina behind.  She sighed and said, "Oh, well, maybe next time."   She shrugged and turned back to her painting, humming something that Cye couldn't identify.  Cye just stood behind her, unnoticed, taking in the sight of her.  She was like a drug to him and he was addicted.  He couldn't get enough of her and he'd only known her for a day.  

He shifted the weight of his body to relieve some pressure that was building up in his leg and in doing so, he caused the leaves to rustle, making a noise that caused Mina to stop painting and her back go stiff.  She slowly turned around to see what was behind her and the confused look on her face turned into a smile as she saw Cye standing there.  _Is she always this happy?   Cye wondered.  She swiveled on her stool and said, "Hey Cye, how's it going?"_

"Oh, ok I guess," he said, stepping out of the bushes, "What about you?  What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm painting a picture."  Cye looked down at her fingers and said, "With your hands?"

"I don't like to paint with a paintbrush.  It's much more fun with your fingers."

"I'll have to take your word for that."  Mina smiled at him again and said, "What are you doing down here?"

"Oh, I came down to the lake to power up."

"Power up?"

"Yeah, when I'm exhausted or I'm tired after a battle, all I have to do is find a water source and immerse myself in it.  It powers up my armor, seeing how as I wear the Torrent armor."

"Ah, interesting.  I wish I could do that," Mina said ruefully.

"Why, where could you go to power up your armor?"

"Me?  The place where my armor was created."

"And where was that?"

"Venus."

"Venus.  You mean, like the planet?"

"Yep."

"That's pretty cool."  Mina inspected Cye for a moment and said, "You're from England, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am.  You noticed the accent, I see."

"Sure did."

"Ever been there before?" Cye asked.

"That I have.  I lived there for a couple of years.  Did you ever hear of Sailor V?"

"Yeah, I was so in love with her a couple of years ago.  Why?"

"Because that's me."

"You're Sailor V?"

"In the flesh."

"Wow, I didn't ever think I would ever meet you."

"Well, now you have."

"I know, totally unexpected."  Cye stretched and said, "Well, I better go soak myself."

"Mind if I come along to keep you company?"

"No, not at all."  They walked over to the dock and Mina sat down as Cye jumped into the water.  He stayed under for a few seconds before rising to the surface.  Mina lay down on her stomach as Cye rested his elbows on the dock, his face inches from Mina's.  "Are you really from Venus?"

"Yep, 100% Venusian blood.  But, don't get the wrong impression.  I was born on this planet almost 15 years ago.  I am from this planet.  Just like you are."

"I never said I had the wrong impression.  I was just thinking that it was really cool that you're from another planet."

"Yeah, well don't forget, you have a past as long and weird as I do, King Cye of the Torrent."

"I know that, Princess Mina."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Cye said.  Grinning at her mischievously, he grabbed her arms and pulled her into the water.  Mina let out a scream right before she hit the water's surface and when she went under, she grabbed onto Cye.  

When the two of them surfaced, Mina had her arms around Cye's neck and she was breathing heavily.  Turning to him, she glared at him and said, "I wish you would warn me before you do that."

"Aw, but if I warned you, it would take all the fun out of it."  Smiling at him, she pushed herself away from him and splashed him playfully.  He gathered up mock anger and said, "Oh, if that's the way you wanna play it…" and splashed her back.  They parried back and forth a few times before they realized that it had turned into a huge water fight that neither could stop.

***  
Raye slowly and calmly walked along the path that led straight to her small temple.  She was dressed in her priestess clothing, the red bottoms and the white top.  She could feel her mind and soul finding its center as she neared the small temple that she had built for her as a gift from her grandfather's friends upon his death.  

As she came to the front of the temple, she stopped and bowed her head in remembrance of her grandfather and Chad, two people that she had loved very much.  She felt a tear roll down her face and she wiped it away quickly, scolding herself for crying over them.  She promised herself that she wouldn't cry for them anymore, but Chad was in the forefront of her mind, especially now that Sage had shown up.  The moment that she saw him, she was highly attracted to him, and not only physically.  Something about his spirit drew her to him and she was dying to find out what it was.  

And she felt guilty about it.  She felt like being attracted to Sage was in someway betraying Chad, even though he'd want her to move on.  That's why Raye was going to her temple, to meditate and try and sort things out.  She opened the door and felt the fire's heat as she stepped inside.  Closing the door behind her, she took in a deep breath and sighed in relaxation.  The fire of this temple never failed to calm her down when she needed it to.  She sat down cross-legged in front of the fire and closed her eyes, starting her meditation, trying in vain not to let thoughts of Chad and Sage enter her head.

***  
Sage was wandering the woods, searching for someplace he felt he could meditate at.  But so far, he hadn't found it yet.  He didn't mind looking for someplace to meditate out there.  He felt calm and relaxed in the woods and being able to just be in them made his body feel more at ease.  He was walking through a small grove of trees when he spotted a small building.  His curiosity piqued, he moved closer to the building and upon closer inspection, he found that it was a small temple.  _Just my luck!  I'm looking for a place to meditate and I find a temple.  This is truly a great day._

He found the door, having to circle the building a few times to find it, and he placed his hand on the door handle, taking the time to feel the heat from the fire that was obviously going in the temple. Smiling, he opened the door and was shocked.  Right in front of him was Raye, meditating in front of the fire.  From where he was standing, he could see her profile perfectly.  She was sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, her hands on her knees.  Her head was tipped up barely and her lips were slightly pursed.  Her purple-black hair was slightly fanned out behind her and the fire was playing shadows on her skin, making her all the more beautiful to Sage.  

Needless to say, Sage was more than a little aroused by Raye.  She was everything that he'd ever hoped for in someone.  She was stunningly exotic, from her deep purple eyes to her what looked natural purple-black hair.  Not only that, but she was witty, smart, and passionate at the same time.  Sage realized he was staring, but he didn't care, although he soon would.  

Suddenly, Raye snapped to attention, like she realized that she was being stared at, and turned to glare at Sage.  Her purple eyes bore into his own and she said, "Excuse me, don't you have a little respect for people's privacy?"  Sage opened his mouth a few times, but no sound came out.  Around Raye, he became incredibly tongue-tied.  After a few moments, Raye said, "Well?"  Sage found his voice and said, "I'm sorry.  I was looking for someplace to meditate and I found this place.  I didn't mean to disturb you.  If you want, I'll just go…"

"No, don't go.  I'm sorry.  You just kinda startled me, I guess.  I'm not used to anyone else wanting to use this place besides me."

"Are you kidding?  This place is so cool."  
"Really?  Thanks, I like it a lot, too."

"I have just two questions.  One, why is there a fire in this room?"

"Oh, because I read the fire."

"You what?"  Raye laughed slightly and said, "I have psychic powers and I can read the fire to get answers.  I had one at my old temple and I have another one in my room in the house."

"Ok, and my second question is why do you have a temple out here?  Since you're a priestess, wouldn't you live at a shrine?"  Raye's face fell and Sage said, "Did I say something wrong?"  
"No, you didn't.  I used to live at a temple with my grandfather.  He was the priest and I was training to be a priestess so I could help him out.  A year ago, he died.  Killed by a youma, actually, and as a gift of compassion, priests from other temples all over Japan who were friends of my grandfather's built this temple and blessed it for me so I could continue my work as a priestess and remember what my grandfather taught me."

"Oh Raye, I'm sorry."

"Don't be.  If the things that have happened hadn't, I wouldn't be the same person sitting in front of you today."  An awkward silence fell over the two and Raye was the first to break it.  Clearing her throat, she said, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to my meditation.  You're welcome to stay, if you like, and if not, then I'll see you later, I guess."

"No, I'll stay.  It seems like as good a place as any to meditate."  Raye gave a small smile and turned back to the fire, beginning her meditation again.  Sage looked at her for a few moments before closing his own eyes and starting his meditation.

***  
Lita stood in the pantry, assessing what she needed to make dinner with.  She scanned the shelves upon shelves of cooking ingredients and thanked God that Celia was loaded up on money.  The pantry that she stood in was every chef's dream.  It was a basement that Celia had turned into a pantry upon Lita's request that the kitchen wasn't enough to hold food for 10 people.  Lita picked up a bag of flour and a container of many different spices and walked up the pantry stairs to the kitchen.  

Kicking the pantry door shut, she set down the stuff in her arms on the counter next to all the other ingredients she had pulled out and began to sort through it all.  She surveyed all her ingredients and decided that she was going to make dessert first, triple-layer fudge chocolate cake, Serena's favorite.  Serena had been begging Lita for weeks to make her favorite dessert and Lita figured that since it was sort of a special night, seeing how it would be the first dinner between the Mystical Warriors and the Ronin Warriors, and that if she wanted to get Serena off her back, she probably should make that cake.  But the only thing about this dessert is that since there would be 16 people at dinner, she'd need to make 2, so she thought making the cake first would be the best idea.  

Moving all non-cake ingredients to the side, she began measuring out what she would need to make two cakes.  She had mixed all the ingredients into a bowl and was now beating them with a spoon when the door to the kitchen burst open.

***  
Kento strolled down the hallway towards the kitchen, whistling "On Top Of Spaghetti" as he went along.  Suddenly, a loud grumble came from his stomach and Kento stopped walking.  Looking down at his stomach, he said, "I guess I shouldn't be whistling songs about food, huh?"  His stomach grumbled again in response and Kento laughed.  

He started walking again and eventually found the door to the kitchen.  Pushing it open, he found Lita beating something chocolate in a big, clear bowl.  The sudden noise of the door being pushed open made Lita jump slightly and turn to see what was up.  She gave a half-smile and said, "Hello, Kento, and what brings you down to my humble kitchen?"  Kento's stomach growled again and Kento said, "That."  Lita laughed slightly and said, "You're just as bad as Serena.  Well, if you're so hungry, there's the fridge, just pull out whatever you want."

"Thanks," Kento said before pulling out the necessary things to make a roast beef sandwich.  After a few minutes of silence, Kento had his sandwich made and hopped up on the counter, next to Lita, who was pouring cake mix into cake molds.  "Whatcha making?" Kento asked.

"Three-layer fudge chocolate cake.  It's Serena's favorite and she's been asking for it for weeks.  I figured that I'd give it to her."

"Really, that's so cool.  That's my favorite dessert."  Lita laughed again and said, "You and Serena are more alike than I thought."

"But wait, if you're making a three-layer cake, why do I see six cake molds?"

"Because I'm making two cakes.  There will be 16 people at dinner tonight and most of them I know love this dessert.  One cake will not be enough."

"Good call," Kento admitted.

"Thank you."  After a pause in the conversation, Kento said, "What are you making for dinner?"  
"I don't know.  Why, do you have any suggestions?"

"No, just don't make anything with seafood in it."

"Why?"

"Because Cye hates seafood and he knows if anything has seafood in it.  He has a really deep connection with sea animals, so if you don't want him to make a fuss over dinner, I wouldn't make anything with fish in it."

"Ok, I can do that.  I think it's cool that you look out for you friend like that."

"Nah, it's just that I don't wanna have to listen to him whine.  I've heard it too many times before."

"Ahh, so I see you've known the other Ronin Warriors a long time, huh?"

"Yeah, I've known Cye since we were little and I've known the others for about a year and a half, during the battle with Talpa.  What about you and the Mystical Warriors?"  Lita, who was putting three of the cake molds in the oven, said, "I've known Serena, Mina, Raye, and Ami for about two years and the others for about year and a half.  But, I love all of them so much in the short time that I've been with them.  It's like living with the family I never had.  And it's a big family at that.  I always wanted a big family after what happened to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, when I was about 7, my parents died in an airplane crash, leaving me to live on my own.  I lived in my own apartment from the age of 8 to 14 when I moved in here.  Ever since they died, I've been afraid of airplanes and since they died, I've always wanted a big family to make up for the one that I never had when I was little."  Kento looked at Lita with sympathy in his eyes.  "I'm sorry about your parents.  It's really great living with a family.  I should know.  I'm the oldest of 5 and it's great.  But, I haven't lived with my family for a year and a half, ever since the battle with Talpa."

"Why?"

"Well, because when the battle with Talpa was over, I started going to school in Toyama and I was living at Mia's house.  When I told my parents that I wanted to stay there and finish high school, they let me, knowing that I wouldn't get myself into too much trouble," Kento said with a smirk.

"You, in trouble?  Nah," Lita said jokingly with a wave of dismissal.  

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Me?  I wouldn't dream of it."  Kento let out a little laugh and said, "Right, you wouldn't."

"Well, maybe a little."  Lita blew a few strands of hair out of her face and when they fell back in her face, she said, "Aww crap."  She took out her ponytail holder to fix her ponytail, letting her hair cascade down her back.  Lita shook her hair out and Kento watched her, mouth agape.  _She is gorgeous with her hair down.  Why doesn't she leave it like that?  As Lita started gathering her hair up, Kento said, "Why do you put your hair up?"  _

Lita, who was startled by the question, said, "So I can keep it out of my face."

"But, why?  You look really pretty with your hair down."  Kento, who realized what he had just said, turned a light pink and looked away.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."  Lita, who was also blushing, although from the compliment, said, "No, thank you for the compliment."  Lita let go of her hair and put her hands on her hips.  Searching for conversation, Kento said, "So, do you like living in Tokyo?"

"Yeah, but the getting kicked out of school is no fun."  
"What?"

"I've been expelled from three different schools."

"Why?"

"I was fighting."

"You?  Fighting?"

"Why, do you find that hard to believe?"  Lita peered at him with one eyebrow raised and Kento shook his head violently, thinking about her in battle the day before and training earlier that day.  "No, I don't find that hard to believe."  Lita tucked her now loose hair behind her ears and said, "Well, what should I make for dinner tonight?"  Kento smiled and said, "I don't know, why don't we figure that out?"

"Yes, let's do that."  Grinning widely at each other, they started to sift through everything in the kitchen, looking for dinner.

***  
Mia curled her feet under her body as she continued to read Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time".  She had read the book many times before, but she never got tired of it.  She was turning the page when she felt something warm on her thigh.  She looked down to see Ryo, who was now using her leg as a pillow.  Smiling, she put her book down and studied Ryo's face again.  It had been a long time since she had been able to do this, watch him sleep.  

Some nights, when she wasn't tired or when she needed a break from researching, she would go up into his room, sit by his bed, and watch him sleep.  White Blaze didn't even notice her come in anymore, he'd gotten so used to it.  So, she would sit and watch him sleep.  She'd watch his chest rise as he took in every breath, she'd watch his eyelids flutter as he dreamed of something that she wished she could know about, and she'd watch him smile as he dreamed.  She lifted her hand and let it hover over his face for a moment before brushing away a strand of hair away from his face, her heart pounding all the way.  Never before had she allowed herself to touch him while he slept.  She'd restrained herself from doing it out of fear that he would awaken and blow her cover. 

Becoming more daring when he didn't stir, she allowed her fingers to lightly trace the outline of his face, her fingertips memorizing the feel of his skin beneath them.  She followed his jawbone down to his mouth and ran her thumb across his bottom lip slightly.  This caused Ryo to stir slightly and Mia held her breath, fearing that he would wake up, but let it go when he only turned onto his side and sighed.  Mia put her hand on her chest to calm her beating heart, thanking the powers that be that he didn't wake up.  Taking one more deep breath in, she removed her hand from his face and picked up her book again, but her thoughts still lingered on Ryo.  Little did she know, however, that she was the subject of his dream.

***  
In his dream, Ryo was sitting on the beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore, feeling the salt air blow through his hair.  He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply the smell of the sea.  With his eyes closed, he was more keenly aware of his other senses.  He could feel the sand underneath his bare feet; he could taste the sea air; he could feel the mist that rose off the sea settle on his face.  "Oh Ryo," a voice called out to him.  His eyes snapped open and he looked to his right.  Off in the distance, he could see someone approaching him.  He squinted to get a better look at the person and identified them as female.  She was wearing a long wrap-around skirt, tied in a knot at on hip, an emerald green bikini top, and she was barefoot.  Her long hair was blowing behind her and her face was fixated on him.  As she got closer, Ryo's eyes widened because he was now able to see who it was.  "Mia?"  She stood over him and said, "Yes, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Why?"  Mia laughed a little.  "Don't you know, Ryo?"

"Know what?"

"I love you."  Ryo was taken aback by Mia's statement.

"You do?"

"I have for the longest time."  Mia knelt down besides him and laid a hand on his arm.  "You just didn't know it."

"I don't know what to say, Mia."

"Tell me how you feel."  Green eyes met blue and Ryo couldn't keep it in anymore.  "I love you, Mia."  She smiled at him and said, "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."  She moved closer to him, her face hovering over his, and laughed at the confused expression on his face.  She ran a hand across his face, down his jaw and over his lips.  "Mia?" he whispered.

"Shh, now's not the time for talking."  And with that said, she captured his lips with hers, completely catching him off guard.  After a moment of shock, he wrapped his arms around her waist and proceeded to kiss her.  In the real world, Ryo smiled.

***  
After an hour of being in his arms, Ami had finally calmed down and apologized to Rowen for losing control like that.  She didn't know why she did it, but she felt her guard slipping with him around and all the pent up tears that had come from her parents' death had been let out.  She didn't regret losing control, not at all.  In fact, she felt better for it.   _Maybe I should do that more often_.  Ami mused.  

She got up and picked out a book finally and settled down to read it.  Rowen followed her example and sat on a huge armchair by the couch that Ami was on.  After taking one last glance at Ami, he opened the book titled "The World's Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics" and began reading.  

A few hours passed and the next time that Rowen looked up at Ami, she was fast asleep.  Smiling, he put down the book and walked over to her, getting ready to wake her up.  He kneeled down besides the couch and moved his hand to shake her, but one look at her face told him not to disturb her slumber.  _She's tired.  She's had an emotionally exhausting day.  He remembered how he tried to calm her down when she started crying, but he eventually figured just to let her tears run their course.  _From the sounds of it, she'd never properly mourned her parents' death.  Maybe now, she feels better for letting it go_.  He took the book from her hands and set it on the coffee table in front of the couch.  Then, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the library.  _

He went upstairs, cradling Ami in his arms, and stopped short when he reached the second floor.  On the couch were Mia, who was reading, and Ryo, who was sleeping and using Mia's leg as a pillow.  "Hey Mia, what's up with Sleeping Beauty and using your leg as a pillow?"

"Oh, he's really tired, I just didn't have the heart to wake him."

"Uh-huh, sure," Rowen said, not believing her for a minute.

"Well, what about you and Ami?"

"She fell asleep in the library.  I'm just carrying her up to her room."

"Right, and don't tell me you don't like having her in your arms."

"Never said I didn't.  See you later Mia."

"See ya, Rowen."  Rowen walked the last set of stairs to the third floor and suddenly realized that he didn't know which room was hers.  He entered the large family room in the center of the floor, which was so much like the one on the second floor, except bigger, and looked left and right down two hallways.  Down the hallway to the left were four rooms and to the right were 6.  He went right and opened the second door on the left.  He figured that he was lucky and that it was Ami's room that he had entered because of the amount of books stacked in it and because of the color of the room, which was done in almost all blue.  

The room was twice as big his, something that made Rowen almost envious of the girl sleeping in his arms.   In the middle of the floor was a large blue Persian rug.  There was a set of French doors straight ahead that led to a balcony outside.  On the wall to his right, there was a door, which he presumed was to the bathroom, and a fireplace.  On the wall to his left was another door that led to her closet and a bed in the middle of the wall.  On the wall where the door to the hallway was located was a large wooden dresser that was as tall as he was.  Anywhere where there wasn't furniture there was bookshelves built into the wall, obviously a modification designed by Ami herself.  

He was about to go over to the bed to put Ami down when he noticed the pictures on the mantle above the fireplace.  He walked over, with Ami still in his arms, to look at the pictures.  The first picture that he saw was of a woman with long bluish-black hair standing in front of a man who had his arms wrapped around her waist.  The woman was the spitting image of Ami and the man looked like he was related to her.  In the picture, they were both smiling and Rowen caught a glimpse of the man's left hand.  He noticed the ring on his fourth finger and remembered the ring that Ami had shown him.  The people in the picture were her parents.  Smiling, he moved on to the next picture.  

In the next picture, there was a girl about the age of four with shoulder-length blue hair in pigtails, smiling at the camera with a toothy grin, holding a book about as big as her in her lap.  It didn't take Rowen very long to identify the little girl as Ami when she was little.  _She was so cute.  I bet she will have a daughter that looks exactly like her._  He moved on to the third and final picture.  

It was of 5 girls whom Rowen soon identified as the Sailor Scouts from the tiaras and the skirts.  He recognized the girls as Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Jupiter.  The girls had victorious smiles on their faces, but they looked a little weary, like they had just fought a battle.  That confused him.  All of the press photos of the Sailor Scouts that he had seen had them looking well rested.  He brow furrowed in confusion.  _Why does she have a picture of the Sailor Scouts after a battle?  That is really strange. _ He studied the picture for a few moments, trying to figure it out.  Suddenly, it dawned on him.  He looked from Sailor Mercury to Ami and back and forth a few times until he figured it out.  _Ami was Sailor Mercury?  That means that Serena was Sailor Moon, Raye was Sailor Mars, Lita was Sailor Jupiter, and Mina was Sailor Venus.  Wow, that's cool._  

Smiling, he walked over to the bed and set her down on top of the comforter, which was a shade of light blue.  He pulled the thin quilt that was thrown over the bed and covered her with it.  He leaned into her and ran his fingers over her cheek.  Smiling slightly, he brushed his lips over her forehead.  "Sweet dreams," he said before walking towards the door.  His hand reached for the doorknob when he remembered the picture of the Sailor Scouts. Turning around quickly, he went and plucked the picture from the mantle.  He walked over to the bed, right beside Ami, and said, "You won't mind if I borrow this, do you?"  Ami's only response was that she shifted her body as she slept.  Rowen's eyes traveled down her body, which had somehow placed itself in a slightly erotic position.  The small quilt that Rowen had placed on top of her had managed to slip off her body, exposing the creamy white skin of her thighs.  Of course, it didn't help that the skirt that she was wearing had ridden up to show most of her upper thighs.  Her shirt had twisted itself, bunching up right below her breasts, exposing her flat stomach.  Rowen stifled a groan as he examined her body.  He swore to himself that he wasn't going to do anything inappropriate, so he quickly left the room, leaving Ami to slumber peacefully.  

Once outside her door, he leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief.  It had been hard not to, but he hadn't done anything to be ashamed of, but by God, he wanted to more than anything in the world.  _God, seeing her lying down like that… it was almost too much._  In the day that he had known her, he had become more physically attracted to her than he had to any other girl in his life.  What made it more intense was that he was emotionally and intellectually attracted to her as well.  Composing himself quickly, he stood up straighter and pushed himself off the wall.  He walked down the hall and smiled.  He had a picture to show off.

***  
Mina crawled up onto the dock, trying to dodge Cye's water attacks.  She was drenched from head to toe and all that she wanted now was to go back to the house and change into dry clothes.  She was halfway up onto the dock when she felt Cye's arms go around her waist, trying to bring her back into the water, but she was pulling too hard and she ended up pulling him out of the water and on top of her.  

She pushed him off of her back and stood up.  "Well, that was entertaining, but I really want to go change into dry clothes now," Mina said.  Cye, from his position on the ground, looked Mina up and down, noting the way her wet clothed clung to her body.  "Why?" he asked, "You look just fine like that."  Cye didn't realize that he had spoken out loud until he got a good-natured slap on the arm, which didn't affect him because he was wearing his sub-armor.  "You know, because you're cute, I'll let that one by with just that little slap," Mina said with a slight smile on her face.  _She thinks I'm cute!_ Cye thought, a large smile forming on his face.  

She walked away and went to putting her art stuff away as Cye stood up from off of the ground.  He watched her with fascination as she put her things away.  He was looking at her, but most of all, the way her hips moved when she walked.  He usually pegged himself as a gentleman, but when he was around her, he couldn't help but stare.  She was too beautiful for him to even comprehend.  But, he didn't like her only for her looks.  

While a little ditzy on the outside, Cye knew that somewhere in there was an intelligent, kind-hearted girl who spread love and happiness wherever she went.  He watched as she began to walk away and he just stood there, looking at her until she turned around and said, "Well, aren't you coming?"  Cye snapped out of it and said, "Oh, yeah, I'm coming.  Just a little spacey today, that's all."  Cye ran to catch up to her and Mina said, "Yeah, I have days like that, too.  Of course, I think everyone thinks that I'm spacey everyday."

"Oh, I'm sure they don't think that.  I don't."  Mina looked at him flatly.  "You've only known me for one day."

"Yeah, but it's a feeling I have."

"Oh, a feeling," Mina said, giggling.  Cye didn't think he could fall in love with her any more, but hearing the sound of her laughter echoed in his heart.  Her laughter could bring him out of any dull or depressing mood because there was no way that anyone could hear the joy behind it and not feel their spirits rise.  

They walked the short trek through the woods, back to the house in silence.  They were trying not to think about the other one, but every once in a while, their hands would brush up against one another and it was like an electrical current passed through both of them, making their nerves tingle from that one slight touch.  _ I wonder what would happen if he REALLY touched me,  Mina thought.  The thought of his hands on her brought a slight touch of pink to her face.  They entered the house and climbed up the stairs.  As they reached the second floor, Cye said, "Well, I had fun this afternoon, how about you?"_

"Yeah, I had fun, though I didn't accomplish what I wanted to, the painting of the lake, but that's ok.  I had fun too.  We'll have to do it again sometime, alright?"

"Yeah, sure," Cye said.

"Good," Mina said as she started to walk up the stairs that lead to the floor that her room was on.  "I'm going to change my clothes now.  They're still really wet."

"I still stand by my statement that you look fine like that," Cye said while laughing slightly.  Mina just threw him a glare before rounding a corner and out of sight.  With a sigh, he started to take off down the hallway when he saw Mia and Ryo on the couch, Ryo asleep and using Mia's leg as a pillow.  "That's an interesting development.  When did your leg become his pillow?" Cye said in a quiet voice, as to not wake Ryo up.  Mia looked up from her book and said, "I don't know.  It just kinda happened.  So, how was your afternoon?"

"It was pretty good.  I hung with Mina for a while."  Mia raised an eyebrow at that statement.  "Mina?"  
"Yeah, she's a really nice person."

"I'm sure she is.  It's nice that you found a girl that you can talk to besides me."

"I know.  Well, I'm going to go and change from my sub-armor in to regular clothes.  See ya, Mia,"

"Bye Cye," she said before turning back to her book.

***  
Sage couldn't stop looking at Raye.  No matter how hard he tried, he found himself stealing glances at her as they walked back to the house from Raye's small temple.  She was just too beautiful for him not to look.  Unbeknownst to him, Raye was also having the same problems.  She couldn't keep her eyes off of him, but she could only guess the embarrassment if she was caught looking.  So, she kept herself to small glances, although she could stare at him all day.  

They walked in companionable silence for most of the walk, although it was nervous silence, until Raye heard something rustle in the bushes.  She stopped walking and turned her head to look, peering into the bushes, but seeing nothing.  Sage, who noticed that Raye wasn't walking beside him anymore, turned to see what was wrong.  "What's wrong, Raye?"

"I thought I heard something in the bushes."

"I'm sure you're imagining things, Raye.  I don't see anything."

"Yeah, well, I…"  Raye never got to finish her sentence before a large figure jumped out of the bushes and tackled Sage.  Raye screamed, startled by the large creature, and jumped back.  She turned her head and covered her ears with her hands to prevent from hearing Sage get tortured by the large creature.  When she didn't hear anything bad, she uncovered her ears to hear Sage…laughing?  She opened her eyes and looked to see Sage laughing as a large, white tiger licked his face.  "Ok, White Blaze, yes, I know you're happy to see me, but, could you get off of me?"  Sage gave the tiger a good-natured push on his chest and the tiger reluctantly got off of Sage.  Sage stood up and brushed off his clothes.  "That's a good boy.  Did you run all the way over here, White Blaze?"  The tiger growled in response and Sage laughed again, scratching the tiger behind the ears.  "I figured.  I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Do…do you know this creature?" Raye asked, a slight tremor in her voice.

"Yes, I do.  But, this isn't a creature.  It's a large Siberian tiger and his name is White Blaze.  Don't worry.  He won't hurt you.  He'll only hurt you if you threaten to attack Ryo in anyway.  He's Ryo's tiger.  Don't be scared."

"I'm not scared," Raye said defensively.  Sage looked at her, not believing her, and said, "You're scared.  It's written all over your face."  Raye glared at him, knowing that he had read through her, and said, "Fine, I'm scared.  It's not every day you see a large white tiger jump out of the bushes, you know."

"I know, but this is a special tiger.  Go on, give him a scratch."  Raye reluctantly moved closer to the tiger, slowly inching her hand towards his head.  As her hand neared, the tiger growled lowly and Raye pulled her hand back.  Sage only smiled and said, "Don't worry, he's anticipating your scratch.  He was purring.  Go on, scratch him."  Raye looked into Sage's eyes and found that they were devoid of worry and they were calm.  She trusted his judgment and she started to move her hand closer.  

She scratched White Blaze on the top of the head and giggled when White Blaze nuzzled her hand, encouraging her to scratch him more.  She laughed a little louder and used her other hand to scratch him, her fears about the tiger gone.  "You were right, he's just a big kitty," Raye said.

"Well, I didn't say those exact words, but basically, yeah, he is.  Just don't try to hurt Ryo and you're cool."  Sage was silent for a minute until he said, "Hey, White Blaze, could you give me and Raye a ride back to the house?"  The tiger growled in response and Sage said, "Good."  Sage climbed onto the back of the tiger and Raye looked at him skeptically as he said to her, "Get on."

"What?"

"White Blaze is going to give us a ride back to the house."

"Are you sure he can stand our weight?"

"He can stand the weight of two of us with armor on.  He can take the weight of two, armor-less humans."

"Well, ok," Raye said slowly as she climbed onto the back of the tiger and absently threw an arm around Sage's waist to hold on.  "Ok, White Blaze, let's go," Sage said and the tiger took off in a run for the house.

***

"Whew," Lita said as she hoisted herself up onto a clean part of the kitchen counter.  "We've come a long way in a few short hours," Lita said to Kento, who sat down on the counter next to her.  "Yeah, we managed to make two cakes and start a turkey for dinner."

"Yep, now all that's left is the vegetables and the potatoes and we're done," Lita said.

"We make a good team, don't we?" Kento asked, turning to face Lita.

"Yeah, we do," Lita replied, turning to look at him as well.

"I mean, you're a good cook," he said sheepishly.

"And you're a good helper," she said in response.

"Do you really think so?" Kento said, moving closer to her.

"Yeah, I think so," Lita said, moving closer as well.

"Well, if you're sure," he said, leaning into her.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Lita said breathlessly, preparing herself for the kiss.  Their lips met, brushing up against each other's for a millisecond before the back door to the kitchen burst open and they broke away, the kiss forgotten.  Kento looked in the direction of the door and saw White Blaze, carrying Sage and Raye on his back.  "White Blaze, ooh, it's good to see you," Kento said, hopping off of the counter and leaping over to White Blaze.  

Raye and Sage, who saw Kento catapult himself for the tiger, got off fast and moved out of the way as Kento tackled the tiger and the two began to wrestle.  As the events were unfolding in front of her eyes, Lita just watched with confusion and wonder etched on her face.  Raye walked over to Lita, noticing the look on her face, and said, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, Raye, but, who's tiger is that?"

"It's Ryo's tiger.  Obviously he followed behind."

"I can see that," Lita said.

"Are you scared?"

"No," Lita said sincerely, "Just a little shocked at the large white tiger that's standing in the middle of my kitchen."

"I know, I was shocked too, though I was also scared."

"Yeah, I can see being scared.  I was a little scared at first, but when I saw you and Sage on it's back, I figured it was ok.  What's its name?"

"His name is White Blaze."

"Fitting," Lita said, nodding her approval.  "You know who would be really scared over this?" Lita continued, "Serena."  At that, Raye's lips contorted into a wicked smile.  Lita, who caught on immediately, said, "Oh, no Raye.  Don't you dare.  Serena will never forgive you."

"Why?  It will be fun."  Sage and Kento, who caught the last part of the conversation, said simultaneously, "What?"

"Pardon?" Raye said.

"What will be fun?" Kento asked.

"Scaring Serena.  She'll never expect a large white tiger in her bedroom."

"Especially while she's in there with Darien," Lita added.

"Darien's in there?" Raye asked.

"Yeah, and I don't suppose he'll be very happy if you scare Serena like that."

"He'll get over it and so will she."

"I still don't like the idea, but I know there's nothing I can do to stop you.  So, go and scare her."

"Ok, I will," Raye said before taking off out of the kitchen.  "Come on, White Blaze," Raye called to the tiger.  White Blaze followed with Sage and Kento close behind.  Lita hopped down off of the counter and went to take something out of the refrigerator when Kento's head popped back into the kitchen.  "You coming, Lita?"  Lita turned and sighed.  "Yeah, I guess so," she said resigned.  She bounded out of the kitchen after Kento.  Together, they all climbed the stairs to the second floor and were going to ascend the stairs to the third floor when White Blaze saw Ryo.  He turned and went over to the couch and Raye yelled after him, "What are you doing?"

"He's saying hello to Ryo," Kento said as if speaking to a 5-year old.  Mia, who had been reading, put her book down as she saw White Blaze approaching.  "Hey White Blaze.  When did you get here?" Mia asked the tiger.

"He just got here," Sage said, with a smile on his face as he looked at Ryo, who was still using Mia's leg as a pillow.  "So, Mia, what's up with that, huh?" Sage said, indicating Ryo's position on the couch.

"What are you talking about, Sage?" Mia asked, though everyone else knew what he was talking about.

"Why is Ryo using your leg as a pillow?  And why haven't you moved him off?"

"Well, his head just kinda wound up there and I didn't have to heart to move him."

"Uh-huh, sure," Sage drawled out.

"I'm telling the truth, Sage," Mia said, starting to get annoyed with Sage.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry."  Mia smiled at him and watched as White Blaze woke Ryo up.  White Blaze, in an attempt to wake up his master, stuck his nose under Ryo's chin and nudged him.  Ryo, who felt the figure trying to wake him up, opened his eyes to see White Blaze staring at him.  Ryo sat up and hugged the tiger, giving him yet another scratch on the head.  "White Blaze, it's good to see you.  How long have you been here?"

"He hasn't been here very long," Raye said.

"So, you just got here, didn't you boy?" Ryo asked.  The tiger only growled in response.  Suddenly, all of them heard two voices laughing and turned to look down the hallway to see Rowen and Cye walking towards them.  "What's so funny?" Kento asked.

"Nothing, we'll tell you later," Rowen said as Cye spotted White Blaze.  "White Blaze!  Come here, boy!" Cye called out.  The tiger moved for him and Cye kneeled down on the ground and gave the tiger a pat.  "It's nice to see you, too," Cye said as White Blaze nuzzled his hand.   Rowen also gave the tiger a pat before saying, "Well, half of the house is here, at least."

"The question is, where is the other half?" a voice said as they walked down the stairs.  The voice belonged to Mina and as she got off the stairs, she spotted White Blaze and gave a little scream of shock.  She looked at the group of people in the family room, hoping that she would find an answer as to why there was a large white tiger in the house.  When she didn't find an answer, she said, "Ok, next time, could someone please tell me that they're going to bring a large white tiger into the house before they do it?"  Mina walked over to the tiger and started to pet it, asking, "What's his name?"

"His name is White Blaze," Ryo said.

"Hmm, it fits," Mina said, "Now we have three cats in the house."

"Speaking of cats," Raye started, "Where are Artemis and Luna?"

"Well, Artemis is in my bedroom and I don't know where Luna is," Mina said, "She went off yesterday to check something and she never came back.  Something about a new central control and it giving her information," Mina finished, standing up.

"And it did give me information," Luna said as she hopped up the stairs.  

"Oh, hello Luna," Mina said as she leapt onto Mina's shoulder.

"Did that cat just talk?" Sage asked, not believing his ears.

"Yes, it did," Lita said, "Her name is Luna."

"Yes, but how did it talk?" Sage asked, still not getting an answer to his question.

"I'm from the moon, young man.  I'm Serena's cat, or rather, advisor.  And who are you?"

"I'm Sage."

"Sage?" Luna said.

"Yes Luna, he is one of guys that wear the Ronin Armor."

"Ahh, so you've arrived at last.  Why didn't anyone tell me?" Luna asked.

"Well, we didn't know ourselves.  Serena knew, but she didn't tell us because she forgot.  But, they came here yesterday afternoon when you were gone," Lita said.

"Guys?"  Everyone turned their head to see Ami standing at the foot of the stairs, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.  Her hair was tousled a little from her nap.  Rowen thought she was the cutest thing he had ever seen.  Running a hand through her hair, she said, "Why is there a Siberian tiger in the family room?"

"He's my tiger," Ryo said.

"Oh," Ami said, still a little out of it.  She looked at Mina and saw that Luna was on her shoulder.  "Oh, Luna, when did you get back?"

"Just now," Luna said to Ami.

"Did you get any information?"

"Yes, I learned that Queen Metallia has joined forces with her old general, Talpa.  They want the Silver Crystal so they can rule the universe.  That's all that I was able to find out."

"That's why we're here," Sage said.

"What?" Luna asked.

"We're here to help you guys with Talpa," Rowen said, "We fought him about a year ago and Serena asked us to come by and help you guys with him."

"That's good because we're going to need all the help that we can get.  I also found out that Queen Metallia has four other generals.  I couldn't find out their names, but we know that they're strong."  Raye, who was getting impatient, said, "I know this is important and all, but can I get back to what I was doing?"

"What were you doing, Raye?" Mina asked.

"I was going to scare Serena by surprising her with White Blaze.  She'll never expect White Blaze in her bedroom."  Raye smiled and took off for the stairs, calling out to White Blaze to follow her as she went up the stairs.  White Blaze followed and everyone else was close behind, all of them wanting to see what would happen.  They went up the stairs and down the hallway to where Serena's bedroom was.  Ignoring the "Do Not Disturb" sign on her door, Raye opened the door quietly and ushered White Blaze into the room, whispering to him, "Go say hello."  White Blaze entered the room and the others stood and waited for Serena's reaction.

***  
Serena smiled against Darien's lips as the two lay down on her bed, making out.  They hadn't been alone in a couple of weeks, seeing how as she was in Toyama for the past couple of weeks, visiting relatives and with the arrival of the Ronin Warriors, their alone time had been put off.  But, now they had their alone time and they were enjoying every minute of it.  Serena shuddered a bit as she felt Darien's hand slide up under her shirt and caress the soft skin of her stomach using his thumb.  Of course, it only made her kiss him harder.  She entwined her fingers in his soft, black hair as they kissed.  Serena never wanted this to end.  

They went on kissing like that for a few minutes when Serena felt the bed dip slightly under the weight of something.  When she turned her head to look at what it was, she found herself face to face with a large, white tiger.  Serena screamed at the top of her lungs and launched herself into Darien's arms, who was also trying to move away from the tiger, although it was a little hard with Serena in his arms.  

When the tiger didn't do anything, Serena stopped screaming and looked at it with a wondering look on her face.  When she stopped screaming, she heard laughing coming from outside her door.  Her eyes narrowed and she leapt off of her bed and stalked out of the room into the hallway.  When she entered the hallway, she found everyone there laughing at her reaction to something they thought was obviously very funny.  Well, Serena didn't think it was very funny and she was going to tell them that she didn't.  

Serena felt her blood boil as they continued laughing and she punched the wall with her fist, the sound resonating off of the walls in the hallway.  Everyone stopped laughing and looked at Serena with their eyes wide.  Serena took her hand away from the wall and when everyone looked at where her fist had been, they found a large dent.  They turned back to Serena and all looked at Raye, now slightly annoyed at her seeing as how this was her idea.  "What do you guys thing you are doing?"

"Come on, Serena, it was a joke.  Lighten up," Raye said.

"I don't think this was very funny.  How would you like it if I did something like this to you, Raye?  You wouldn't like it very much, would you?  I don't think this is very nice to do to someone you guys consider your friend."  With that, Serena turned around and stormed back into her room, slamming the door behind her; it was surprising that she didn't knock the door off of its hinges.  As the sound of the door slamming died down, Lita said to Raye, "Well, I hope you're happy, Raye.  Serena's going to sulk for the rest of the evening now.  I told you this wasn't a good idea.  I'm going to go and finish dinner.  Kento, do you want to help me?"

"Yeah, sure," Kento said as they took off down the hallway.  The others left, mumbling something about other stuff they had to do.  Raye, who was the last one to move away from Serena's doorway, whispered, "I'm sorry, Serena," before moving off down the hallway.

***  
Serena was pacing back and forth violently in her bedroom, still steaming over the incident that happened a few hours ago.  Darien had abandoned her a couple of hours ago.  Although he loved her very much, there was only so much of a ranting Serena he could take.  So, he left Serena alone with her thoughts.  

Over the past few hours, Serena's anger had redirected itself from her friends to her self.  She wasn't mad at her friends anymore, they were just playing a joke on her; she was mad at herself for reacting like she did.  They probably wouldn't want to speak with her again after the way she reacted.  She had blown up at them and she felt bad about it.  She had played plenty of jokes on her friends and they never acted like that towards her.  It wasn't fair to them for her to do it to them.  

Serena suddenly stopped pacing at the light rapping at her door.  "Come in," she said in response to the knocking.  The door opened and Lita stepped in, looking slightly guilty.  "Hey, Serena.  It's dinnertime.  Are you coming?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm coming."  Serena looked at Lita's guilty expression and smiled.  "What are you looking so guilty about, Lita?"

"I feel bad about the joke that Raye played on you earlier."

"It wasn't your idea."

"I know, but I could have done something to stop it."

"No, you couldn't have.  Once Raye gets an idea in her head, it's hard to get it out."

"I suppose so," Lita said quietly, tucking her hair behind her ears.  Serena noticed the unusual act and said, "Since when do you leave your hair down?"

"What, don't you like it?" Lita asked self-consciously.

"I love it.  It looks really good on you.  But, why the sudden change."

"Well, if you must know, Kento told me that it looked good down, so I left it that way," Lita said, a smile beaming on her face, as she opened the door and stepped out.  Serena followed, saying, "You really like him, don't you?"  Lita closed the door and said, "Yeah, I do."  They started to walk down the hallway when Lita said, "And I was this close to kissing him," she said, holding her thumb and forefinger millimeters apart.

"Yeah, I know.  Love can stink," Serena said as they walked down the stairs.

***  
After dinner, the guys headed upstairs, leaving the girls in the living room, and went into the family room, throwing themselves down on the couches that were in the room.  "I don't know about you guys, but although Talpa's come back, I'm happy he did," Rowen said.

"And why do you say that?" Cye asked, thinking Rowen crazy that he was actually happy that Talpa was back..

"Because, if he didn't come back, then we wouldn't have met the girls," Rowen said.

"And I'm in full agreement," Sage said.

"I know how you all feel," Kento said, "I think I may actually be in love.  Imagine that."

"You really do like Lita, do you?" Cye asked.

"Sure I do.  She's been the only girl who's really given me the time of day.  She's interested in what I have to say, though I don't know why.  I don't know why she'd want to be with me at all.  She's smart, beautiful, and talented.  She could have anyone that she wants, but she spent her day with me.  I somehow find that hard to believe."  

When Kento finished his speech, the room fell silent.  They never knew the deep maturity that his thoughts possessed and his little speech summed up exactly what the others felt.  "That is exactly the way I feel," Rowen said, "Ami shared something with me today that she had never shared with anyone before."  The guys gave him surprised looks and Rowen knew what they were thinking.  "No, you guys.  Get your minds out of the gutter.  She allowed herself to cry for her parents' death in front of me and she told me everything about what happened to them.  I don't think that she had ever allowed herself to really cry over her parents' death and the knowledge that she felt comfortable enough to do it in front of me made me feel like the most special guy in the world, but also made me feel like I didn't deserve it.  

"These girls are so special that I think it's hard to believe that they would want to spend any time with us at all.  These 5 girls have something special about them and it's great to be around," Rowen finished.  

"That pretty much sums it up," Sage said, "I mean, how many times do you hear me say I think I may have actually fallen in love?"  Ryo gave an uncharacteristic squawk and said, "You, fall in love?  I thought that you just went out with a girl for a few weeks, and then dumped her.  I never pegged you for the type to fall in love."

"Neither did I," Sage said, "But there's something about Raye that I can't help but love about her.  You guys have to admit that a lot of the girls that I went out with before were simpering idiots, not really worthy of my time.  I couldn't have any real conversation with them because they weren't after getting to know the real me.  All they wanted was to say that they went out with Sage Date.  

"But, with Raye, she doesn't seem like most of the girls that want to go out with me.  There's something about her that's independent and intelligent.  She's not afraid to speak her mind around me and she's not intimidated by anyone.  I love that about her, the fact that she can stand up for herself and that she won't yield to anyone else's opinion.  It doesn't hurt that she's absolutely beautiful."  

"Yeah," Cye said, "I understand what you mean about a different type of girl.  Mina may seem like a ditzy girl, a lot like the ones that we know back at home, but underneath that is someone who's really smart and funny.  I mean, her wit is sharp.  She never fails to pick up on things and comment on them, if the situation is right.  She's sensitive about things like that.  She can pick up on people's feelings and make them feel better almost instantaneously.  

"She did that at dinner earlier when Serena came down, remember?  She immediately knew that Serena wasn't feeling entirely better and she made her feel better.  Mina's special like that.  Oh, and did you know that she was also Sailor V and that she lived in England?"

"She was Sailor V?" Kento asked, "God, you were so hung up on her when we all first met, remember?  I think you had a shrine to her in your room.  God, I think that our meeting these girls was fated."

"Yeah, I'll agree that destiny had a hand in this," Sage said.

"Hell, according to Celia, this was prophesized," Ryo said, speaking up for one of the first times that evening.  

"Maybe," Rowen said, "Well, I don't know about you, but all this serious talk has made me tired.  I'm going to hit the sack.  I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's actually a good idea," Kento said.  The others agreed, standing up and walking into their rooms.  All of them changed into their pajamas and immediately went to sleep.


	4. Reflections A

Hi all, DestinyBabe here.  Another chapter!  Technically, I should be reading for Education class tomorrow, but I wanted to get this updated for you devoted readers.  Also, I wanted to extend a big thank you to Ninmast for being the first to review book 1, the Mystical Warriors, and for adding us to her favorite authors.  I admit, I hyperventilated from sheer glee when I saw that review.  So please, if anyone reading this likes or dislikes the story, or has criticisms, please feel free to review!  Thanks you, ~DestinyBabe

Chapter 4A:  Reflections

-Three weeks later, July 24th, 1998

*Cye's Point of View*

I smiled as I made my way through Celia's very large mansion.  Although I have been living here with my friends for three weeks, it is still taking me a while to get used to things like what room is what and what hallway goes to where.  But, learning the house aside, I don't think I've ever been happier than when I've been here.  I think I may have found the love of my life and now that I've found her, I won't ever let her go.  Mina is the thing that brightens up my day.  

Since its summer, we don't have to go to school.  So, I spend most of my time with Mina, just hanging out with her and getting to know her.  Like yesterday, after the daily three-hour training session, Mina and I went into the city and hung out at the park and talked for hours about everything and anything.  Although I'm extremely nervous when I'm with her, I feel like I can say anything around her and she won't judge me for it.  She'll just listen and come back with her own opinion on the topic.  And she's not as much of a ditz as people think.  I was right; she is very smart, she just doesn't always show it.  But, when we're together, I get the impression that she lets the ditzy front down and lets me see the real Mina Aino and I feel blessed that I am one of the few people who gets to see this side to the world's most beautiful angel.  

At this moment, I am headed down to the art studio to find my love (I only call her that in my thoughts) so we can hang out together.  Today's our day off from training practice and I haven't seen Mina all morning.  I feel very deprived and I miss Mina.  If I don't see her, my day just isn't the same.  I don't know how I ever lived without her before.  I come to the end of the hallway where it splits into two parts.  The way to the left is the library.  That's Ami and Rowen's territory.  To the right is where the art studio is, the place where my love spends most of her time, my haven.  

Most of time, Mina and I are either in the art studio or down by the lake.  I don't why that is, but both of us, I guess, are more comfortable in those two places.  Either that, or it's her bedroom late at night when we stay up for hours talking to each other.  I get the feeling that she trusts me, maybe even more than some of her friends.  I know that we are on our way to being fast friends.  Which is what scares me.  I'm scared that the closer we get, the more she's going to think of me as her friend and while I'm madly in love with her, she won't feel the same way and I'll be crushed.  But, I don't want to stay away from her.  I love her too much to stay away.  So, I'll hope for the best and that over time, she'll feel the same way about me.  

As I near the art studio, I begin to hear the sounds of music coming from that direction.  My sights close on the door that leads into the art studio and I approach it, leaning on the doorframe.  I cross my arms over my chest and just stand there, looking at Mina from the side.  She is sitting at the pottery wheel at an angle where I can see her face perfectly, but she can't see me, unless she turns her head slightly to the right.  Basically, this is the perfect opportunity for me to just look at Mina without her knowing.  I know that this can be described as spying in a twisted way, but I don't care.  As cheesy as this sounds, I could look at Mina all day long, but hey, what do you expect?  I'm in love.  

As she molds the clay in front of her, I see her take in a breath and begin to sing with the music in the background.  As she starts to sing, I remember what a beautiful voice she has.  She doesn't sing that often in public, but her voice is clear and sweet.  I remember when I caught her singing down by the dock about a week ago or so.  She was sitting on the edge of the dock, her feet dipped in the water, and she was singing.  I don't know what exactly she was singing, but her voice was beautiful.  I scared her half to death by announcing myself and I told her I thought her voice was beautiful.  What she told me next shocked me.  She told me that she had never been complimented on her voice before because she had never sung in front of people before.  I couldn't believe it.  She has the voice of an angel, but she doesn't use it.  That opinion of herself belies this deep feeling of insecurity that she harbors.  And I never realized how big that insecurity was until now.  

As I stand here, admiring the heavenly beauty in front of me, a hauntingly beautiful melody comes out wafting out of the speakers of the stereo.  The melody is simple and heart-wrenchingly sad.  The lyrics begin, as quiet as the melody, and Mina begins to sing.

_You look at me and see the girl_

_Who lives inside the golden world_

_But don't believe that's all there is to see_

_You'll never know the real me_

I am frozen in place.  I know that this isn't all of the song, but as Mina sings this song, I recognize a fear in all of us, a fear that we'll never be understood by anyone and that no one will ever know who we really are.  Hearing Mina sing these words, I can hear a trace of pain come through in her voice and my heart goes out to the young woman who suffers a constant internal battle with her insecurity.

_She smiles through a thousand tears_

_And harbors adolescent fears_

_And she dreams of all that she can never be_

_She wades in insecurity and hides herself inside of me_

I was right.  Mina does feel a lot of pain; she just never shows it to anyone.  Although Mina didn't write these words, I certain that she feels them as if the words belonged to her.

_Don't say she takes it all for granted_

_I'm well aware of all I have_

_Don't think that I am disenchanted_

_Please understand_

_It seems as though I've always been_

_Somebody outside looking in_

_Well, here I am for all of them to bleed_

_But they can't take my heart from me_

_And they can't bring me to my knees_

_They'll never know the real me_

As the song comes to a close, I can hear so many things in her voice as she sings.  I hear fear, fear of being rejected.  I hear uncertainty, an uncertainty of not living up to what everyone wants her to be.  I hear crushed hopes of dreams come and gone.  I can hear the pain she feels of always having to put up a happy exterior and I can hear the weariness that comes with holding that appearance up.  I can hear so much in her voice that it hurts my heart physically.  It's like I have a direct feed into her emotions and all I can hear is doubt, fear, and pain.  I discover that my eyes have been closed and when I open them, my vision is blurred with tears.  I silently wipe away my tears and focus my eyes on Mina.  

Although the song is over, the aftershocks haven't worn off yet.  I can see tear streaks on the cheek that I can see, the only thing that mars her beauty.  She is still enchanting with her silky golden hair, flawless complexion, and goddess-like body.  But, her sparkling blue eyes are not shining with happiness, which I'm beginning to suspect is fake half of the time, they are shining with tears and her radiant smile has been replace with a slight down curving of the corners of her mouth.  She has let the façade drop and pain is etched on her face.  She probably only lets go of the happy appearance when she is by herself, so she still doesn't know that I'm here, which I'm grateful for.  

Although I don't like seeing Mina like this, I'm happy that I was allowed this glimpse of her pain for the sole purposes to prove that I was right, she really does suffer through more than anyone ever suspected, except for maybe Serena, but Serena knows everything.  Seeing Mina let her guard down also makes me even more determined to help her make her insecurity disappear.  I'm positive that my love for her could, over time, make her pain go away, although she may never notice that it was I who did it.  I have no reason why it should work, just a feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me that it will happen.  And when I obey that feeling, things usually end up happening the way I thought.  So, I'm going to obey that feeling and trust that her pain will go away with time with the help of my feelings for her.  And it doesn't hurt to start trying now.  

I push myself off of the doorframe and walk over to her unheard.  Standing behind her, I lay a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.  I remove my hand from her shoulder and sit down in the chair next to her to see her trying valiantly to wipe the tears away from her face, but she's still crying, so new ones only replace the tears that she wipes away.  My face still holds a look of concern and I ask, "Mina, what's wrong?"  She looks a little panicked at being caught letting go of her true emotions and lets her eyes roam around the room, resting on anything but me, like she's trying to avoid the raging emotions inside of her.  But I'm not going to let her get away that easily.  "Mina, you can tell me what's wrong."  But I already know what's wrong.  

She lets her gaze rest on a corner of the room and says, "I…I…" but she can't get the words out; her throat is too choked with emotion to get the words out.  The action of trying to speak only brings on more tears and she begins to sob.  She buries her face in her hands and hunches her body as she lets go of pain that was brought to the surface by one simple song.  

The corners of my mouth turning up in a small smile of relief, I pull Mina off of the seat that she's on now and into my lap, gathering her into my arms.  She's amazingly light as I cradle her in my arms the way one would a small child.  One of my hands comes up to stroke the back of her head as I begin to murmur words of comfort, not words to calm her down.  She needs to let this go and I'm not discouraging it.  The only way things will get better is if she gets it out in the open and although this is mentally and emotionally exhausting, this is a good a way as any to do it.  And I, for one, am glad that she trusts me enough to let me see her like this.  I just hope I can help.

*Rowen's Point Of View*

"Ami!" I call out as I look around the library.  Not finding Ami in the library anywhere, I stop looking and put my hands on my hips, sighing with confusion.  Where is she?  She's usually in the library.  So, if she's not in here, then where is she?  My eyes do one more sweep of the room, certain now that she's not in here, before I leave the room.  

I walk down the hall and turn right, which will lead me into the foyer.  As I reach the foyer, Serena walks into through the front door, her cheeks rosy from her jog that I know she takes every day.  Although I know it's a shot in the dark, I can't resist from asking.  "Hey Serena," I say, "Do you know where Ami is?  I've looked in the library, but she's not there."

"Why are you looking for her?" Serena asks, wiping sweat off her forehead with the edge of her tee shirt.  

"Because I want to talk to her."  Serena's face takes on a sly smile that I would have missed if I hadn't been paying attention, but I choose not to comment on it.  "Well, have you checked the indoor pool?"

"Where's that?" I ask; I still really don't know the house that well.

"You mean you haven't noticed where it is?  It's across from the bathroom that's by the kitchen.  It's that big pair of double doors across from the entrance to the kitchen."

"Oh, so that's where those doors go to."

"Sure do, genius.  That's probably where Ami is.  She really likes to swim.  If you can't find her in the library, odds are you'll find her there."

"Thanks.  I'll go look there.  See ya, Serena."

"Bye Rowen," Serena says as she heads up the stairs, muttering something about a shower.  I shake my head for no apparent reason; maybe having something to do with Serena and her frequent complaining about small things, and head off to the spot that Serena told me about.  I find it easily (I've figured out where the kitchen is by now) and I see the large pair of solid, double doors across from the kitchen. I open the door and walk in, noticing the humidity of the room that all indoor pools seem to have.  

I look around the room to see Ami standing on the high dive, prepared to jump off.  And when I say high dive, I mean high dive.  The diving board is probably 20 feet off the ground, at least.  I watch with amazement as she leaps off the board, twisting and flipping all the way down, until she hits the water.  I watch as she plunges into the water and doesn't resurface for a few seconds.  Her eyes are closed and she keeps them that way as she begins to do laps in the pool.  She's a very good swimmer and I'm surprised at that fact; I guess I just never figured her for a swimmer.  

Instead of announcing my presence, like I should have, I just stand there and watch her swim gracefully back and forth.  I don't know how long I was there watching her, but it must have been a while because after a while, Ami stops swimming, slightly breathless, and turns her head to see me.  Although I am a little shocked that she had noticed me behind her, I am more amused by the wide-eyed look on her face.  She looks so cute like that.  I smile at her, an unspoken hello, and lean against the wall.  "So, come down here often?" I ask casually.

"Well, I'm down here when I'm not in the library or training.  But I haven't come here in a while."

"You never told me you swam," I ask again, a little hurt that she didn't tell me something that is obviously really important to her.

"You never asked," she said with a taunting tone of voice.  With a smirk, she swims over to the side of the pool and climbs out, walking towards me as I gape.  While I try to be as gentlemanly as possible, it's just really hard to be so around Ami and hey, a gentleman has to have his fun every now and them.  She's absolutely gorgeous and seeing her in a bathing suit is a little much.  Although I know she has the strength of a hardened warrior, her body is complete with soft, sensuous curves.  

I get control of my features as she nears me, picking up a towel that is next to my feet.  I hand her the towel as she stops in front of me.  She grabs the towel from my hands and begins drying herself off.  I watch her intently as she dries off her slicked-back hair with the towel, all the while still thinking about how cute she is.  She pulls the towel off her hair, which is kinda messy and still very damp, and wraps the towel around her waist.  "So," she says, "What brings you down to these parts?" Ami asks me.

"Well, I was looking for you, actually," I say a little sheepishly.  I watch with delight as her face lights up with a huge smile.  "Really," she drawls, "So, why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Oh, nothing in particular.  Just wanted some intelligent conversation, that's all."  She giggles lightly and I can feel my heart skip a beat or two at the light and airy sound.  "Alright, then, if you want to talk to me, get your swim suit on and join me in the pool."  Whoa!  I wasn't prepared for that answer.  I was hoping we could avoid the pool.  I shake my head violently in protest.  "Uh-huh.  I am not swimming."

"Why?"

"I don't swim."  Ami just looks at me skeptically, not believing what I just said.  Then, it dawns on her and I cringe slightly.

"You don't or you can't?" Ami asked, a hint of humor in her voice.  I gulp.  Might as well fess up.

"Alright, you got me.  I don't know how to swim.  I never got the chance to learn.  My parents always had me in special brainy classes and I never had the chance to go out and learn how."  I can hear her sigh and I continue talking.  "I know, that's a really lame reason not to have learned how, but…"

"I'm going to teach you."  What?  She's going to what?  Oh-no.  I am not getting in that pool and I tell her so.  I look away and say, "No.  Way.  I am not getting in that pool.  There is nothing you can do to get me in that pool," I tell her matter-of-factly.  I look back at her, big mistake, and find myself drowning into two large, pleading, sapphire blue eyes.  "Please?" she begs, taking my left hand into her own two.  I look down at our joined hands in surprise and can feel the heat radiate from them.  

For some reason, my hands are always a little cool.  I look back up into her eyes and suddenly, my will is not my own anymore.  "Fine," I hear myself say, "You can teach me."  She smiles broadly and says, "Ok, then go get your swimsuit on and I know you have one.  I've seen you and Sage go into the hot tub a few times after training sessions."  Rats.  There goes my only excuse.  Wait, how did she know that Sage and I sometimes go into the hot tub?  "How did you know that?" I ask.

"Know what?" she asks back, just as confused as I am.

"How did you know that I sometimes go into the hot tub outside?"  I can see a blush spread over her cheeks and her eyes go wide with surprise.  "Well, you see, I, um, there's a window, right over there," she points with her left hand, letting go of my hand, but her right hand is still holding my left.  I look in the direction that she's pointing in and can see the outdoor hot tub from where I'm standing.  "Ahh," I say, finally realizing how she knew, a little disappointed.  I thought I could catch her spying on me, and then I'd have proof that she likes me.  Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?  "Well, what are you waiting for?" I hear Ami ask me, "Go change."

"Um, Ami?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't go when you're still holding on to my hand."  She looks down at our joined hands in shock, the blush that hasn't fully faded from her cheeks coming back with full force.  She immediately lets go of my hand and I miss the warmth that came from it acutely.  "Oh, sorry," she says.  I only smile.

"It's alright," I say.  Hell, it's alright.  She can hold my hand any time she wants to.  "Well," I continue, "I'll be right back."

"Good.  And if you're not back in 5 minutes, I'm coming up to get you."

"Ooh, is that a threat?" I tease.  I just can't help myself.  She looks at me pointedly and says with what I think is mock seriousness, "Yes, it is."  I smile at her and say, "Ok, I'll be right back, I promise."  I take off for my bedroom in a run.  I really don't want to take her up on that threat.  Now that I think about it, she seemed pretty serious.  I have no doubt in my mind that she would actually go all the way up to my room and drag me by my hair back down to the pool.  

I make my way up the stairs, taking them two at a time, which is quite a workout in this house with two flights of stairs that have, like, forty stairs in each flight.  I reach my room, finally, and go into the bathroom that I have to myself.  Since there are 5 bathrooms on this floor, Sage has opted for a slightly bigger one that's down the hall from this bathroom, leaving me this bathroom, which is quite alright with me; a bathroom's a bathroom.  But to Sage, it's obviously a very big deal.  

I grab my swimsuit from where it's hanging from the wall of the huge shower stall that's in my bathroom.  The rooms in this house are huge, even the guest rooms.  I believe that my old room at Mia's house was only about 2/3 the size of my bathroom now.  I change into my swimsuit and absent-mindedly grab a towel before heading back down to the pool.  I slow down when I reach the bottom of the stairs and start walking to the pool, not running.  I enter the indoor pool and see Ami standing there, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her lips pursed in slight annoyance, but still looking as gorgeous as ever.  God, I could kiss her and just never stop.  She spots me and the annoyed look leaves her face.

"Ooh, good, you're back," she says as she delivers another heart-melting smile my way, the smile that I would do anything to see everyday of my life.  I put my towel down and she takes her towel off of her waist and throws it down next to mine.  "Are you ready?" she asks.

"I guess so," I say.  

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear."  That was obviously the only warning I was going to get before she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the pool.  She leads me down the steps of the shallow end and I can feel myself becoming submersed in the cool liquid.  We are finally standing in the pool and the water only reaches my hips while it goes up to mid-torso on Ami.  My hand still in hers, she pulls me into the deep end of the pool.  I'm all right until I can no longer feel the bottom underneath my feet.  

I start to panic, which I know is not the best thing to do when in a body of water.  My hand slips out of Ami's and my arms begin to flail as I try to keep myself afloat.  I can feel myself go under the water's surface, but am pulled back up by a pair of strong hands that have grabbed my upper arms.  I open my eyes, which must have closed when I started to go under, to see Ami looking at me, concerned.  "I guess you weren't lying to me when you told me you couldn't swim," she says softly.

"I told you," I said, anger creeping up into my voice, "I knew this was a stupid idea.  What if I drown?" I ask.  One of Ami's hands leaves my upper arm as she grabs my chin so she can look me in the eye.  "Listen to me.  I won't let anything happen so you.  I won't allow it.  But, I am going to teach you how to swim.  You're going to have to trust me though," she says firmly.  "Do you trust me?"  Do I trust her?  What a stupid question.  Of course I do.  "I trust you with my life," I say seriously.

"Then let me teach you.  Nothing will happen, I promise.  Do you believe me?"  I look into her eyes and see the sincerity in her gaze.  How could I not believe her when she's looking at me like that?  I nod, answering her question.  "Good.  Now, the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to tread water.  That's the thing a beginning swimmer always learns how do to first.  Now, hold onto my waist."  She doesn't have to tell me twice.  

My hands encircle her tiny waist, holding on as tight as I dare.  I feel her hands leave my shoulders and go to my own waist, helping to hold me up in the water.  "Now," she says, "Do you see the way my legs are moving back and forth in the water?"  I look down and see her legs gently kicking in the water.  "Yeah," I say.

"This is what's keeping my head above the water.  I want you to try the same thing.  Just move your legs back and forth in the water."  I comply, mimicking her movements.  "Good," she says.  "Now you have to learn what to do with your arms."

"You mean I just can't keep on holding onto you?" I ask slyly, only receiving a patented Ami-look.  

"Not funny, Rowen.  I'm serious.  But, for the moment, just keep holding onto my waist while I show you what to do."  She lets go of my waist and begins treading water with her arms.  "This also helps me to keep above water.  Try it."  She stops moving her arms and puts them back on my waist as I, regretfully, let go of hers.  I, once again, mimic the movement of her arms, and am pleasantly surprise when, after a few moments, I am greeted with her smiling face.  "What?  What are you smiling about?"

"You're treading water," she says simply.  I look at her with confusion and she holds her hands up out of the water and trills her fingers at me.  I look down and see that I am keeping myself afloat.  "I'm doing it.  I can do it!"

"I knew you could," Ami says encouragingly.  From that moment, my swimming lessons began.  While Ami was teaching me, I could only think about her and how lucky I was.  Not only is she absolutely beautiful, sweet, and funny, she's incredibly smart with an intelligence high enough to rival my own.  She also accepts everything about me, including my quirky sense of humor, which no one seems to fully accept.  Maybe it's because no one can understand it.  But, Ami can and she laughs at all of my jokes, including the ones that no one else can understand.  She has totally changed my life in the three short weeks that I've known her for.  But, something about her seems strangely familiar, like I've met her before.  But, you see, the thing is that I would remember meeting her.  It's not everyday that I meet someone who is practically exactly like me.  But, whatever it is, I am very grateful to have met this goddess.  

I am so deep in my thoughts that I don't notice how time has flown and I can feel myself getting very tired from the physical exertion.  I never knew that swimming was so tiring.  Ami seems to notice my fatigue and says, "I guess that's enough for today."

"Today?  You mean I have more to learn?"

"Well, you can now swim, but, if you want to learn any strokes, you're going to want to come and ask me."  I think about what she says, hoisting myself out of the pool and onto the edge so my feet are dangling in the water.  Hey, it's an excuse to see her in a swimsuit.  "Will you teach me more?" I ask.  She pushes herself out of the pool and sits down right next to me, so close that I can feel her leg touching mine.  "Well, if you want me to teach you more, it's going to have to come with a price," she says.

"What's your price?" I ask, thinking it's money, wondering why Ami would want me to pay her.  She looks and me and says softly, "If I teach you how to swim more, you have to teach me something."  I sigh in relief, relieved that our friendship is not going to be based on money.  "What do you want me to teach you?"  She smiles and me and says, "Will you teach me archery?  I've always wanted to learn and I've seen you handle a bow.  I know you're good.  Will you teach me?"  I smile broadly at her.  Another reason to be in her presence. 

 "How could I say no?" I ask her.  I sober up a little bit and say, "I'd be happy to teach you.  Besides, archery is my specialty."  She rolls her eyes slightly at my cocky tone of voice, but she's still smiling.  At the same time, we both say, "Thank you."  The simultaneous speaking caught us off guard and we stare at each other for a few moments.  Ami is the first to break away.  Withdrawing her feet from the water, she gets up and walks over to her towel, my eyes on her the entire time.  Every time I see her, I drown in her beauty and intelligence.  It's like I enter another world when I'm with her, a never-ending utopia.  I quickly follow suit and walk over to where my towel is as Ami starts drying herself off.  She, once again, wraps her towel around her waist.  "Well, I'll see you later, ok Rowen?"

"Sure thing," I say as she starts to walk away.  Before she walks out of large room, I call out to her.  "Hey Ami!"  She turns around and looks at me.  "Yeah?"

"Your lessons start tomorrow."  She looks at me, really confused, and then it dawns on her.  "Oh, right, the archery lessons.  Yep, we'll start tomorrow.  See ya later!" she exclaims before walking out of the room.  I smile as she leaves, still thinking about how lucky I am to know someone like her.  I honestly don't know.  

*Kento's Point of View*

"Yeah!  Kill 'em, kill 'em!" I yell at the movie that I'm watching.  I cheer on the hero of this movie, whatever it is.  I didn't see the beginning of the movie and I don't recognize who's in it, no one I've seen before, so I'm just sitting here, cheering on the hero as he takes down half of the bad guys.  The movie calms down and I relax a little bit.  As I relax, my VERY sensitive nose picks up a delicious smell.  I check the clock on the wall.  It reads 12:24.  "It's lunchtime!" I shout.  I enthusiastically push myself off of the couch and make my way out of the den, through the ballroom, into the dining room, and from there, into the kitchen.  

I know Lita's cooking something delicious.  The day that she cooks something that tastes bad, the world will end, I swear.  I have never met a better cook.  That, however, probably has something to do with the fact that I am totally, completely, and utterly in love with her.  I enter the kitchen and am presented with the sight of Lita frying something over the stove, her back to me as she hums something that I don't recognize.  

A broad smile spreads over my face as I prepare to execute a surprise tickle attack.  I walk as quietly as I can towards her, thankful for the combined sound of whatever she's frying and her humming masking the sound of my sneaking up on her.  I stop when I am standing directly behind her, looking directly at the back of her head.  I still find it weird that she is exactly as tall as I am.  I've never met a girl who was as tall as I was before and it's still a little weird.  

The smile on my face turning slightly evil and mischievous, I grab Lita's waist, tickling it.  She screams, or rather yells, in surprise as she feels my hands on her waist and I immediately let go, laughing loudly.  She turns around and glares at me, putting down her spatula on the counter.  She hits me, hard, and I'm surprised for a moment until I remember that she's as strong as I am.  "Ow, that hurt!" I exclaim.

"Serves you right," Lita says indignantly, "You were the one who scared me."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself," I say apologetically.  I look at Lita and see that she is really mad and I am suddenly very sorry.  "I'm sorry," I repeat, my voice lowering in volume.  I peer back up at Lita and see her body relax and her expression soften.  She lightly punches me on the arm and says, "Aww, it's ok.  Just don't do it again, alright?"  I nod vigorously, promising never to do it again.  I look over her shoulder, trying to see what she's cooking.  "Whatcha making?" I ask

"Oh, I'm making chicken stir fry.  Do you want some?"

"Do you even have to ask me, Lita?  You're looking at the human garbage disposal."  She laughs slightly and says, "Oh yeah, I must have forgotten," rolling her eyes at me as she turns around and stirs the stir-fry around in the pan.  I sit down on one of the stools that surround the island in the middle of the kitchen as I watch Lita cook.  

Everyday, since I met her three weeks ago, I am constantly amazed by her.  She's everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend, if I could ever tell her how I feel about her.  I've never felt like this about anyone before.  It's a new feeling for me.  Yeah, sure, I've had crushes on other girls, but what I feel for Lita goes deeper than just a crush, or at least I think so.  I think I may be falling in love with her.  

I think one of the reasons why I'm falling in love with her is because she's the only girl who's really given me the time of day.  Most of the girls that I've liked that I've actually talked to dismiss me as nothing and never pay attention to me at all.  But Lita, she's different.  She actually listens to me when I talk to her, giving me her full attention, which, of course, only makes me tell her more about me.  She makes all the other girls that I've had crushes on pale in comparison.  She is much more beautiful, smart, and sweet than all the other girls I've liked before.  That is why, I think, I'm falling in love with her.  It doesn't hurt that she's absolutely gorgeous and could be a model if she wanted to.  

I asked her about that a few days ago and she told me that she didn't want to be a model because she didn't like how fake models were.  Then, she turns the subject around and begins asking me questions about my past, which only amazed me even more.  She is always interested in my past and keeps me wondering why an angel like her continues to be interested in someone like me.  "So, Kento," Lita says, bringing me out of my thoughts, "What's it like to have brothers and sisters?"  I smile widely, happy to tell her about my family.  

I was shocked to find out that she didn't have any brothers and sisters and that her parents died when she was little girl.  I guess I'm just amazed that someone who had Lita's past turned out to be as nice as she is now.  "Well, as you know, I have a brother and three sisters.  My brother is just two years younger than me, so I ended up taking care of my sisters a lot more than I ended up taking care of my brother.  You know, making sure they got to bed on time, getting them up for school, getting them dressed, doing their hair.  You know, even though my oldest sister is 12, she still asks me to do her hair whenever I see her.  I guess it's because I always did it when she was little."

"You know how to do hair?" Lita asked, not expecting that from me.  Not many do.

"Yeah, I can do basically anything with someone's hair."

"Could you do mine?" she asks me, scooping the stir-fry into two bowls along with some rice, one for her and one for me.

"Yeah, sure," I say as she puts the bowls down on the counter to get forks for the two of us.  She carries the food over to the island, a big smile on her face.  "Do you want me to do it after we're finished eating?" I ask.

"Could you?" she says, delight in her voice.

"Of course, but could you take your hair down so I could see what I want to do with it?" I ask, lying.  Sure, it'd be nice to see her hair down so I could plan what I want to do with it, but I just want to see her with her hair down.  She looks so pretty with her hair down, but she never leaves it down very often.  We make small talk as we eat when she suddenly yawns.  "Are you tired?" I ask her.  She glares at me again.  "Yes, I'm tired.  Although I wouldn't be if _someone_ hadn't woken me up at 3:00 in the morning for a sandwich."  I suddenly feel very sheepish.  I swallow the bite of stir-fry that's in my mouth and say, "Well, you make sandwiches really good."

"Kento, you can make the same exact roast beef sandwich made out of the same ingredients," she says with an eyebrow raised.

"I know, but your sandwiches always taste better than mine do.  I think it's because you make them." I say, embarrassed.  I look up as Lita's blushes.  I smile broadly again.  Lita looks away and says, "Well, thanks for the compliment.  I'm really not that good.  But next time, could you not wake me up at 3:00 in the morning?"  I guess so, but she looked so cute last night with her hair tousled from sleep, wearing a tank top and boxer shorts.  "Ok, I won't wake you up at 3:00 in the morning anymore."  That doesn't mean I can't wake her up at 4:00 in the morning.  

I swear she must have picked up on my thoughts because she says, "Or any other time in the middle of the night."  Rats.  Oh well, it was worth a try.  We finished eating in silence and when our dishes are in sink, I turn to Lita and say, "Well, do you want me to do your hair now?"  

"Yeah, sure.  Where do you want to do it?"

"How about in the dining room?" I say.  Lita shrugs.

"All right," she says nonchalantly.  I lead her into the dining room by placing my hand on the small of her back and giving her a slight push in the direction of the dining room.  We enter the dining room and I sit down on one of the many chairs that surround the huge table.  I pull Lita towards me.  "Sit on the floor," I command gently.

"Why?" she asks me.

"It's easier to do your hair when you're sitting on the ground," I say as if I'm addressing a small child.  She complies with out question and sits down in front of me, her back to me and her legs crossed Indian-style.  I look at her hair with a calculating gaze.  I sit there for a few moments, trying to think about what I want to do with her hair.  Lita, who is obviously getting impatient, lets out a frustrated sigh.  "Well, are you going to do something with my hair, or not?"

"Yeah, I'm getting to it.  I'm just thinking about what I want to do with it."  I decided to start with taking her hair down.  I pull out the ponytail holder and watch as her hair falls down her back in a sea of dark auburn silk.  I run my fingers through it, half finger-combing it, half just seeing how it feels to run my fingers through her hair.  Her hair IS silk.  It just slips right through my fingers.  

I am broken out of my reverie on my own, suddenly realizing that if I don't do something with her hair soon, she's going to think I'm scary.  So, I start with a French braid that starts right above her left ear.  I continue to braid it until it reaches the middle of her hair whereupon I tie it with the ponytail holder that had kept her hair up previously.  Then, I start an identical French braid above her right ear that eventually meets up with the other braid.  "Hey, can you hold this?" I ask Lita, indicating the braid on the right so I can take out the other ponytail.  Her right hand comes up to take hold of the braid, her fingers brushing against mine as I turn the braid over to Lita to hold.  

I feel little electric sparks run up my arm, which I'm pretty sure is from our fingertips touching, not from Lita's lightning power.  I move my hand away from hers while I take the ponytail holder out from the other braid.  "Thanks," I say as I take the braid that Lita's holding from her hand and grasp it in between the fingers of my right hand.  She puts her hand in her lap and says, "No problem."  I smile slightly as I gather the hair from the two small braids (I didn't use all of her hair) and form it into one medium lock of hair, which is about 1/3 of her hair.  I start a regular braid and braid the lock of hair down to the end, where I fasten it with the original ponytail holder, the rest of her hair trapped under the braid.  "There we go, I'm done," I say.  I see Lita's hands fly up to the back of her head to feel what I did to it.  "What did you do?" she asks.

"Well, if you wanna find out, then why don't you go look in the mirror?"

"I'll go do that," Lita says determinedly.  I watch her stalk off, a little bounce in each step.  I chuckle slightly at her bouncy step as she stops in front of a mirror that is strategically placed in the dining room by Celia.  I walk over to her and stand over her shoulder, smiling at her awed expression.  "So, do you like it?" I ask as she runs her hands over the braids.  

"Like it?  I love it!  Kento, I never knew you could do such a good job with hair!"

"Yeah, well, it's a talent that I don't get to use often.  I mean, I don't do any of the guys' hair and Mia never asked me to do her hair.  This is the first time I've actually done anyone's hair in a while."  Lita didn't comment on that.  She just looked in the mirror in awe.  "Thank you," she whispers.

"Any time.  If you ever want me to do you hair, just come and find me.  I'd be happy to do it."  Lita turns around and looks me straight in the eye.  "Really?  Do you mean it?" she says softly.  She sounds very surprised at that offer.  "Yeah," I say in an equally soft tone.  We both lean in slightly and I think our lips are going to meet for a second time when I hear, "Oh my God, Lita.  I love your hair!"  

We both turn to see Serena standing in the other end of the dining room, her hair slightly damp from what I guess to be a shower.  She walks over to Lita and starts talking to her and suddenly, it's like I'm not even in the room any more.  That's all right though.  I need to calm myself down after that second near-kiss.  But, the first time, our lips actually touched, even for the briefest moment when Raye and Sage burst into the kitchen with White Blaze.  If I wasn't so happy to see the large feline, I'd have killed Sage for ruining my perfect opportunity.  

I'd kiss her when we were alone, but I'm too scared to.  I don't know why, but the thought of initiating a kiss on my own scares me.  What if I scare off Lita?  Then she won't ever be with me and I don't think I could deal with that knowledge.  Serena starts to pull Lita off in the direction of the kitchen, asking for one of her legendary sandwiches, and before they leave the dining room, Lita turns around and says, "I'll see you later, Kento."

"Right, I'll be down to help you in the kitchen for dinner later this evening."

"Ok, I'll be waiting," Lita says before Serena drags her out of the dining room.  Although Lita's gone, I'm still wearing a smile on my face.  I guess seeing Lita or being with her has that effect on me.  I sigh in happiness; seeing her always brightens up my day.  With one more longing glance towards the kitchen, where I can hear the sounds of two giggling girls, I turn to go back to the den.  I wonder if that movie is still on.

*Sage's Point of View*

You know, Raye's not the only one who has premonitions in the form of dreams.  I don't have them very often, but when I do, they're very intense.  So, now, I'm trying to find Raye so she can look into the fire.  She told me that she can look into the meaning of dreams by asking the fire for answers.  So, now I'm on a search for the gorgeous priestess in hopes that she can look into the fire for answers.  I started with the usual spots: her temple, the training room, and the music room, playing the piano.  That one surprises me.  I had no clue that among her many talents, including fire-reading and karate, she could play the piano.  And she CAN sing surprising well.  

But, anyway, I checked the normal three rooms and didn't find a trace of her.  I walk up the stairs, leaving the first floor, and begin to walk up to the third floor; there's no use in checking the second floor because she wouldn't be on that floor, unless she was looking for someone, namely one of us guys, who live on that floor.  I finally reach the third floor, a little winded after climbing so many stairs, and walk down the hallway that leads to her bedroom.  Her bedroom is almost right above mine, which I find to be very weird.  The thought of her sleeping above me sends tingles down my spine.  It's almost like I'm closer to her that way.  

I reach her bedroom door, which is closed, so I knock on it lightly.  When no one answers the door, I slowly turn the handle and open it a crack, peering in to make sure that she was even in here.  I see her on her bed, lying down, her back to me.  I smile and walk in, not knowing that she is asleep, something that I would find out very soon.  "Hey, Raye, I was wondering if…" I start to say as I walk around to the other side of the large bed to look at her face while I was talking to her and am pleasantly surprised to see her asleep.  Sure, I am a little disappointed that she can't do my fire-reading, but I really like seeing her asleep.  She lets her guard down in her sleep and you can see the breath-taking beauty emanate from her.  She really is gorgeous.  Her lips are curled up in a small smile and her breathing is deep and even.  

I smile and walk over to the edge of the bed.  I sit slowly and gently on the end of the bed and, with great caution, move my hand to brush a stray strand of raven-colored hair out of her face.  She stirs slightly as she feels my fingers brush up against her face, but she settles back down, the smile on her face growing a little wider.  I, in turn, smile wider as I watch her sleep.  She looks very peaceful, calm even.  I know, on the other hand, that she normally isn't calm.  Especially around Serena.  

Around Serena, her temper has a tendency to flare.  But, in seconds, she can be back to normal.  It's one of the things that confuse me about her and that I love about her.  I don't get how she can switch back and forth between moods like that, but it's kinda cute at the same time.  The right phrase or action can immediately take her out of her rage and make her calm again in the space of a heartbeat.  I find it very amusing.  

I run my fingers down her cheek in a very daring move; I know I shouldn't be pressing my luck, but I'm doing it anyway.  She moans lightly in her sleep as I caress her cheek and she smiles yet even wider.  That gives my ego a big boost in a very masculine, territorial kind of way, a side of me that doesn't get shown that often.  I remove my hand and just sit there, content to watch her.  

A few moments later, her body jerks slightly and she slowly opens her eyes to see me sitting there above her.  For some reason, I'm not scared or embarrassed to be sitting there.  But, she sure is surprised.  Her eyes open wide and she shoots up into a sitting position.  Too fast, obviously, because the moment she rights her body, she puts her hand to her head and starts to sway from dizziness.  She sways too far direction and falls towards me.  I hold my hands out to catch her shoulders, steadying her.  

I don't let go until I know she can sit up by herself and when I do let go, she looks up at me confused.  "What are you doing in here?" she asks; now, I'm surprised.  I expected her tone of voice to be harsh and blaming, but she asked the question gently.  I realize that I haven't answered her question, so I do so by telling her the truth.  "Well, I came in here to see if you could do a fire-reading about a really strange dream that I had last night that I think is important.  I didn't know you were asleep and came to this side of the bed to talk to you and found you asleep.  I sat down to begin waking you up, but you woke up before I could do anything."  Ok, ok, so I lied about that last part.  Couldn't very well tell her that I was sitting here, watching her sleep for about 5 minutes, now could I?  "Oh," she says simply, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Are you alright?  You never take naps in the middle of the day."  
"Yeah, I'm fine.  Just a little tired from yesterday, that's all."  I nod in understanding.  Yesterday, Raye and I, who were out buying lunch for everyone, got attacked by a small army of things I affectionately call hybrids, a mix between Talpa's Dynasty soldiers and Metallia's youmas.  They really wiped us out; I'm still a little tired, but I didn't get hit as hard as Raye did.  She was unlucky enough to have her attack reflected and sent right back at her.  I couldn't get to her in time, so all I could do was watch her get hurt.  Of course, she didn't need my help.  

She was so mad that she practically destroyed the rest of the hybrids by herself, a very shocking move.  The guys and I are still amazed and awed by the amount of power that the Mystical Warriors hold within them, Serena especially.  I had no idea that one person could hold the power to destroy the entire universe in their hands.  It's a scary thought and if that power was in anyone else's hands but Serena's, I'd be really scared.  "That's understandable.  You got hit pretty hard yesterday."

"And where were you to help the damsel in distress?" she asks indignantly.

"Does that make me your knight in shining armor?"  She only whacks me on the arm playfully.

"No, but it still would have been nice to have you help me."

"Well, for one, I was a little busy myself, and two, you took care of the rest of them yourself out of anger.  I have never seen one person destroy so many bad guys in one blow.  You're strong, Raye."  She turns a light shade of pink at my compliment, although it's the truth.  

"No, I'm not that strong."

"Right.  And you're a natural blonde.  Raye, don't doubt yourself.  You have amazing power inside you and you have the heart to do good with it."  I can see that I'm starting to make Raye a little uncomfortable because she suddenly changes the subject.  "So, what was that dream about that you want me to look into?" she asks me, getting off the bed and going over to the large, open fireplace in her room.  She kneels down in front of it and starts a fire.  "Why are you starting a fire?" I ask her.

"So I can do the fire reading.  Duh!"

"Don't you have to go to the temple?"

"No, the priests blessed the fireplace in my room so I can use it in here.  It's a nice thing.  If the weather is bad, I don't have to go outside to do a fire reading.  I can do it in here.  Anyway, stop changing the topic.  What was your dream about?"

"It was weird," I begin, "I was wandering through this dark cave, much like the ones where my armor originated.  I reach this large cavern and inside, it's all lit up from torches that litter the cavern walls.  In the center of the cavern is a large pedestal surrounded by a ring of fire and on the pedestal were three warriors, wearing armor much like ours.  I couldn't tell if they were male or female, but the one in the middle spoke and they told me that they were coming.  I asked them why and the only thing that they would say was that they were coming and that the time when they would be needed was approaching, or something like that.  Then, I woke up."  I pause to reflect on my dream before continuing.  "I have a weird feeling about this dream.  Something in the pit of my stomach tells me that this dream isn't to be ignored and I want to know why.  That's why I'm asking you to ask the fire for answers on my dream.  I want to see if it's anything important or not."

"Well, it sounds like it might be.  I have dreams where I get that feeling and they usually end up telling me something useful.  Are you sure you don't have psychic powers?"

"Well, I'm not so sure anymore.  I guess we'll find out when you ask the fire," I say, impatience creeping into my voice; I didn't mean to say it like that, but I want to find out what my dream is about.  Raye understood the message and says, "Alright, alright, we'll get this show on the road.  Just hold on and let me concentrate, ok?"  I nod and sit on the floor a few feet away from Raye so she can have space to do her fire reading.  She holds her hands out in front of her, her fingers laced together except for her index fingers, which are pressed up against each other.  She begins chanting slowly in order to get the fire to respond to her.  

Suddenly, a few moments later, the fire flares and Raye's eyes, which she closed in the beginning, snap open.  From where I'm sitting, I can see the sweat sheen on her face.  I know that it's a combination of the fire and the power that she's using to read the fire in the first place.  I know that it takes a lot concentration and power to do what she's doing and I wouldn't ask if I didn't think that this was a very important thing.  My ears perk up when she says, "Oh Great Fire, please tell me the meaning of Sage's dream?"  Then, I hear a loud gasp followed by a short scream come from Raye's mouth.  I want to move, but I'm frozen in place by some other force that I have no control of.  

Suddenly, a face appears in the fire, making the room brighter than it already is.  The face is that of a man, probably somewhere in his thirties, with light brown hair, shot through with streaks of gold, and piercing blue eyes.  He opens his mouth to speak and his mouth moves as it forms words, but I can't hear them.  It seems like Raye can, however.  I try to move to go to her, but I can't and I yell in frustration.  She's hurting and I can't get to her.  She falls backwards and her body writhes in pain.  The face of the man in the fire glows brightly, so bright that I have to shield my eyes from the light.  When the light fades, I take my hands away from my eyes to see that the fire is back to normal, but Raye is still lying on the ground, passed out.  

"Oh my god, Raye!" I exclaim, rushing over to her, the invisible bonds that held me in place broken.  I take her into my arms and bring her to a sitting position, one arm across her back to support her and the other behind her head, my hand cradling it to support it.  I take my hand away from the back of her head and shake her shoulder.  "Raye, wake up Raye.  Come on, wake up."  After a few more moments of shaking, her eyes slowly open.  "Is he gone?" she says weakly.  I nod.

"Yeah, he's gone.  Are you all right?"

"I will be."

"What did that man say in the fire Raye, what does my dream mean?"

"That man, whoever he was, asked me how I dared try to find out about your dream.  He said that I was meddling in things that I shouldn't be and that I had no right inquiring after his children.  Those people from your dream are his kids."

"They are?  Well, if that's what their father is like, then I'm sure that I don't want to meet his children."

"But, that's the thing," Raye said, now able to sit on her own, "He also said that meeting them is inevitable and that it is going to happen whether we like it or not.  But, oh god, did it hurt.  It was like he was sending out an attack of pure power towards me as a punishment for even asking."

"This is all my fault," I say guiltily.

"Why?" she asks.

"Well, if I hadn't asked you to find out the meaning of my dream, you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Sage, it's not your fault that I got hurt.  I did this of my own accord.  I helped you because I wanted to.  I could have said no, but I didn't.  What happened to me is my fault because I agreed to do it."

"But, if I hadn't asked you…"

"No, I know you, or at least, I think I do, and I know that you would have asked me eventually.  This isn't your fault," she says, putting her hands on my shoulders and shaking them, as if to emphasize her point.  I know it's not all my fault, but I do feel responsible for what happened to Raye.  I still think that I'm responsible and that if I hadn't asked, she wouldn't have gotten hurt.  But, she's also right.  I still would have asked her sometime and the result would be the same.  "So, what does it mean?" I ask.

"What does what mean?" 

"My dream, what does it mean?"

"Well, Sage, I honestly don't know what it means.  It could be a whole bunch of things.  But, I think that the message from who ever that was said that we have to wait to find out who those warriors from your dream are.  But, you're right, something is coming.  I can feel it too."  Raye's body suddenly sways again and I reach out to steady her.  "Guess I got hit harder than I thought.  Can you help me up to the bed?  I don't think I can manage to do it on my own."

"Yeah, of course."  I help her up and onto the bed.  She lies down in her original spot and I sit down next to her.  "Hey, Raye, by the way, thanks for helping me out," I say, looking down at my lap, "You didn't actually have to help me out, you know.  But, it makes me happy that you did help me, you know?  So, anyway, thank you." 

I look up at her again only to find out that she's fast asleep.  I smile tenderly.  I guess it really did hit her harder than we both thought.  It wiped her out.  In a very loving move, I pick up the quilt that's on the foot of the bed and place it over her curled up body.  Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, I whisper, "Good night princess."  I move away from the bed and walk out of the room, closing the door behind me.  

As I walk away from her room, I sigh.  Being with her always puts me in a good mood.  I guess it's because I'm falling in love with her.  She's so beautiful and smart and funny and caring.  She's willing to help out anyone if they're really in trouble, like she did with me today.  Although, I really wasn't in trouble.  It's just that she's so giving and she does so freely.  She doesn't expect a lot back in return, just friendship and trust.  I get the feeling that she didn't used to have a lot of friends, mainly because of her temper I suppose.  

I walk down the hallway and out to the family room on the third floor, where I find Alex and Michelle sitting together on one of the couches.  Alex has her arm around Michelle while Michelle's head is resting on Alex's shoulder and they're talking about something.  Michelle is holding on to Alex's other hand and is tracing small patterns on her palm softly.  I smile.  They may both be female, but they are one of the cutest couples I've ever seen in my life.  And I have no problems telling them that.  "You know," I say, completely scaring them, "You guys make a really cute couple."  They look up to see me walking towards them.  "What did you say?" Alex asks.

"I said that I think you guys make a really cute couple."  Alex blushes openly.  "Thank you," she says.

"No problem."

"Hey Sage," Michelle says, "Why are you up here?"

"Oh, I was just talking with Raye."  Alex and Michelle look at each other with knowing smiles on their faces before looking back at me.  "Oh, ONLY talking?" Michelle asks slyly.

"Yes, only talking," I say, wishing that it really was more than just talking.

"I see," Alex says.  The two of them look at each other again before bursting out laughing.  They obviously find something very funny that I'm not seeing.  "Hey, what's so funny?" I ask, a little annoyed.

"Nothing," Michelle says, her laughing finally under control.  I let it slide.  I've found out that it's no use trying to get something out of those two, or Celia and Heather for that matter.  None of them will tell you anything if they don't want to; it's just best to let it slide.  "Ok, whatever.  Well, I'm going to go and get something to eat.  I'll see you two later."  I begin to walk away and right when I've reached the stairs, I hear two voices say, "Bye Sage," in a teasing tone of voice before breaking out into giggles again.  I only shake my head as I walk down the stairs and I only have one thing to say.  "Those two are weird."

*Ryo's Point of View*

I absolutely love summer weather.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing, there's not a cloud in the sky, and my lungs joyfully expand as I bring in the fresh smelling air of the woods around me.  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see White Blaze running along side me.  I smile, knowing that he's slowed his pace drastically to stay with me.  

I am in the middle of one of my almost daily jogs.  There is a nice path through the forest that I use as my guide; it's starting to become a routine.  White Blaze and I run this trail everyday.  The other nice thing about this path is that it starts by the house and ends by the house.  The path takes me on a full circle around the lake, which is pretty big, and brings me back to the humongous backyard of Celia's mansion, a house that I've been living at for three weeks.  

I can feel the sweat rivulets run down my back and the heat radiating from my body being trapped in my tee shirt and shorts.  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the lake, glimmering under the summer sky.  Suddenly, a thought hits me.  I'm hot, the lake is cool, perfect combo.  "Come on, White Blaze, we're taking a detour!" I yell to the large Siberian tiger as I turn left and begin running towards the lake.  

As I near the body of water, I can see the dock and I only begin to run faster.  I can already feel the coolness of the water against my skin.  I approach the dock, running on it, and launch myself into the water.  I close my eyes and hold my breath as I go underwater.  Ahh, this feels nice.  The perfect thing after a long jog.  I surface and look up at the dock.  White Blaze is lying on the dock, his head resting on his paws and he's looking down at me with an exasperated look, like he's embarrassed of me.  He knows I've caught this look.  "Alright, don't look at me like that.  I'm getting out of the water.  Just because you don't like a little water doesn't mean other people can't enjoy it," I say as I hoist myself back up onto the dock.  My clothes stick to me like a second skin and I can feel the water in my shoes as I walk away from the lake; it feels very squishy and that's the only thing I regret about jumping into the lake.  

White Blaze and I walk back in peace to the house, not resuming our old speed.  We take the 5-minute walk back to the house and as I approach the house, I see Mia sitting outside, researching on her computer again.  Ever since she learned about the Mystical Warriors, she's been researching like crazy, trying to find some information about them.  We both know that she doesn't need to, she only has to ask Celia if she has any questions; I think that she's doing it for her own personal enjoyment, something to do when things get boring. 

I sigh inaudibly as I watch Mia from afar, stopping my descent upon the house.  White Blaze notices that I've stopped walking and turns to see why and if there's anything wrong.  He nuzzles my right hand in worry, trying to get my attention so I'll tell him what's wrong.  Over the years, White Blaze and I have developed a connection where we can understand each other.  It's not like Serena and Luna; that's different because Luna can talk and is able to directly tell Serena what's on her mind and is very able to understand what's going on with Serena.  White Blaze doesn't have that ability, although at times I wish he did, so we've had to rely on this connection between the two of us that has been built through years of interaction.  And now, White Blaze knows something is up with me.  So, I tell him.  

"Look at her, White Blaze.  Isn't she beautiful?" I ask the tiger, motioning to Mia, who's sitting in a lawn chair, her feet propped up, her hair in a bun, and looking absolutely gorgeous in a light blue tank top and khaki shorts.  I can vaguely see White Blaze turn to look back at Mia and I hear him growl in what I think is understanding.  I think that White Blaze knows that I'm in love with Mia.  Don't ask me how, I just do.  But, whatever that may be, I am hopelessly in love with Mia and I don't have the ability to tell her so.  And it's because I'm afraid.  There are few factors that affect why I'm afraid.  

One is that we've been working along side each other for about a year and a half; I'm worried that in that time, she's grown to think of me as a friend and nothing more and that if I tell her that I love her, she's going to tell me that she just wants to be friends.  The other reason is that she is four years older than me.  She's not going to want to go out with someone who's still in high school, for God's sake.  Having her go out with me is only going to drag her down.  She's in college, a totally different world than the one I'm used to.  And, somehow, she always finds the time to talk to me or to say hello to me.  I find it absolutely amazing that she does that.  

There were times when the two of us would stay up for hours talking in the middle of the night when the both of us should have been resting up for school the next day.  But, still, she continued to pay attention to me.  Why, I have no clue.  Maybe she knows I'm in love with her and feels sorry for me.  My fist clenches at that possibility.  No, she doesn't feel sorry for me.  Mia may be very loving and sympathetic, but she doesn't give out pity; it's not part of who she is.  

I am shaken out of my thoughts by the feeling of a warm object pressing against my lower back.  I turn around and see White Blaze, pushing me in the direction of Mia.  "You want me to go and talk to her?"  White Blaze's only response is to push me even more.  "Ok, ok, I get the idea.  I'm going."  I resume walking again, my clothes still soaking wet.  As I come within 20 feet of Mia, she hears me walking towards her.  She lifts her head from her laptop and smiles at me.  "Hey Ryo, you're looking a little soaked."

"Hi Mia, yeah, I jumped in the lake after my jog."

"Ah, on your daily run around the lake?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"You told me, remember?  A few nights ago, we were discussing working out…"  Suddenly memory kicks in.  "Oh yeah, that's right.  I forgot I told you."  My eyes quickly look at the empty chair beside her.  "Mind if I sit?" I ask her.

"No, not at all."  So, I do so.  After getting myself comfortable in the other lawn chair, I remove my drenched shirt and lay it down on the asphalt of Celia's patio so it can dry under the sun.  "God, I wish I had a towel," I said.

"Well, that's your own fault, now isn't it?  It was your idea to jump into the lake," Mia scolds teasingly.  I throw her a mock glare that lasts about three seconds before getting up off the lawn chair and kneeling beside Mia so I could look at her computer.  "Whatcha researching?" I ask with particular interest.  I've always been interested in anything that had to do with her.  

"Oh, I'm only doing research on the myths of the Mystical Armors.  It turns out that my grandfather knew about them and has old files in his computer."  Mia's voice trails off in sadness.  Even after a year and a half, the death of her grandfather still brings her pain.  I pick up on her pain and say, "You still feel sad about his death, don't you?"  She nods.

"Yes, I do.  I lived with my grandfather ever since I was a little girl, even before I can remember.  He was a very big part of my life and now he's gone.  I still can't believe it sometimes."  She turns her head away from me, but I'm not going to let her stay like that.  Grabbing her chin, I turn her head so I can look into her eyes as I talk to her.  "Listen Mia, I'm sure, no, I know that your grandfather wouldn't want you to dwell on his death.  He would want you to move on and live your life with him in your memories.  He wouldn't want you to be sad."  Although Mia knows I'm right, she still has the skeptical look on her face.  Mocking disbelief in her voice, she asks, "Who are you and what have you done with Ryo?"  Her eyes are sparkling with laughter and we both laugh lightly about that; it is rare that I become this perceptive of things around me.  

But, then, the laughter fades and we notice that I'm still cupping her cheek.  I make no move to remove my hand and she makes no action to move away.  We sit there for a few moments, staring at each other when, our faces inches apart.  Slowly, we both lean in towards each other and right before our lips meet, my eyes slip shut.  The first kiss is soft, tentative, like testing the waters almost.  The next kiss, is anything but.  The second kiss is all fireworks and explosions.  I can feel the heat of her lips on mine as I seek to deepen the kiss.  It feels like that heat is spreading throughout my body, filling every crevice of my being and soul.  I have never felt so free before, so overwhelmed and overjoyed.  The feeling of her lips on mine is heavenly and I never want it to end.  

We slowly break apart and open our eyes to look at each other.  With dread, I see her eyes fill with fear and panic.  "Mia?  Are you ok?"  Her mouth opens and shuts a few times before she chokes out, "Oh god," and pushes herself away from me.  Closing her laptop, she stands up and briskly walks away from me, disappearing inside the house.  

I feel like I've been shot, like someone has ripped out my still beating heart from my chest and smothered it with their heel.  Groaning in fear and dread, I bury my head in my hands, resting my elbows on my knees.  "Good going, Casanova," I say dejectedly.  I feel a cold nose press up against my wrist and my head jerks up to see White Blaze.  "Hey boy," I say, scratching the back of his head, "I really screwed up this time, didn't I?  I scared her away.  Now I'll never have a chance.  What am I going to do?" I ask the large animal.  White Blaze only gives me a sympathetic, yet glaring look.  "Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm going to have to fix this myself, but how?  I've scared her away.  Now, she's not going to talk to me."  

White Blaze's only response is to nuzzle the hand that is scratching him.  "At least I still have you and the guys.  Oh, and Serena.  She always pulls through for me."  I sigh again and stand up.  Bending over, I pick my shirt up off the ground.  "Well, might as well go and take a shower.  Come on White Blaze, let's go inside."  I walk inside the house, going through the back door that leads into the kitchen and worming my way through the house until I reach the stairs.  

I walk upstairs and enter my room.  White Blaze rushes in ahead of me and lies down in front of my queen-sized bed.  Anger and frustration at what happened earlier comes rushing into my blood and in a violent move, I slam the door shut.  I lean against the door, sliding my way down to a sitting position on the floor.  I hug my knees close to me and rest my head on my knees.  I can feel a few warm tears escape my closed eyes and I wish I never kissed Mia.  God, I really screwed up.


	5. Reflections B

Hey all, this part is technically a continuation of the last chapter, but at 14 pages in length, we figured it was best to divide them in half.  Enjoy!

Chapter 4B: Reflections

-A week later, August 2nd, 1998-

*Mina's Point of View*

Wow.  Oh.  My.  God.  Wow.  Does he ever have a nice body.  I'm so lucky that he thinks I'm asleep or else I wouldn't be able to stare at him like I am now.  I watch, staring openly, as Cye walks over to the pool, wearing nothing but his swimsuit.  I, on the other hand, am lying down on a lawn chair, in a tube top and shorts, wearing my sunglasses, trying to get a tan underneath the summer sun.  And now, I'm staring at Cye as he makes his way over to the pool.  

We had been talking earlier and he asked me a question, but I was so busy staring at him from underneath my sunglasses that I didn't answer him.  Since he couldn't see my eyes, he thought I was asleep and I gave him no reason to think otherwise.  And I'm happy I didn't.  If I did, then I wouldn't be able to see him now.  You see, when he realized that I was "asleep", he told me that he was going to go for a swim.  He disappeared inside the house and reappeared 5 minutes later wearing light blue swim trunks.  

And I must say, he has the most perfect body I've ever seen.  He's not too muscular, but not too scrawny either, just the way I like 'em.  His chest is firm, he has great arms, and watching the muscles move on his back is almost mouth-watering.  When he emerged from the house wearing his swimsuit, I think I almost fainted upon first sight.  I watched, trying not to show any signs of being awake, as he walked over to my lawn chair and set his towel down by me.  He smiled down at me and in a very motherly move, pushed my hair out of my face.  I watch, captivated, as he walked over to the pool's edge.  

He stretches his arms out, moving his shoulder blades, which, in turn, moves the muscles of his back.  He really does have a wonderful body.  I watch as he jumps into the pool and disappears from sight, but I can hear him beginning to do laps back and forth.  He really does love the water.  He swims down here almost everyday.  But, he hasn't recently; he's been too busy being with me.  Last week, I broke down in front of him.  Why, I have no clue, but he caught me crying.  I didn't think anyone was there, so I thought it was safe to let down my happy face for a moment.  

Being an actress really lowered my self-esteem.  In that line of business, one is usually based on their looks and often enough, I was rejected because my looks didn't fit the part they were looking for.  They paid no attention to my acting abilities, they just wanted someone that fit the role physically and many times, the casting directors thought I was too young, too innocent looking to play the parts that emotionally, I could play.  That really lowered how I picture myself.  It still has an affect on how I think about myself.  But, over the years, it's started to get better.  Maybe it's because I've been in the company of people who don't care about how I look, but about who I am as a person.  I really think that it's helped a lot.  I also think that Cye being there for me has a big effect.  I feel so much better now than I did a month ago, when they first moved here.  

That's another thing I just love about Cye.  Not only does he have a great body, he has a great personality.  He's so sweet and caring, much different from the normal 15-year old boys that I know.  I asked him why he was so nice and he said that maybe it had to do something with growing up with only a mother and an older sister.  Growing up around females, he said, was probably why he was so different from normal males his age.  

Then, I asked him why he didn't have a girlfriend.  I figured that someone as nice and cute as he is would have girls begging him to go out with him.  He told me that he didn't have a girlfriend and that not many girls wanted to go out with him, but with Sage, the flirt king of the school they went to.  I was absolutely outraged and still am.  How can no one see the sweet, caring soul behind those gorgeous eyes?  But, I'm also a little happy that not many girl want to go out with him.  It means I still have a chance.  And thank god for chances.  

I turn my head to look at the pool and can see him swimming back and forth and find myself making wishes.  I wish that I could be in his arms again.  When I was crying in front of him, he pulled me into his arms and held me as I cried.  I felt so safe and warm inside his arms and I never wanted him to let go, never wanted to leave.  I can picture myself falling asleep in his arms, warm and complete.  Being in his arms felt like home, though I don't know why.  He's also incredibly tender.  It's odd.  He held me like I was going to break any second, which wasn't going to happen, but it's nice to have him do that anyway.  It made me feel cherished and special, a feeling I don't have everyday.  

I think he's good for me, even if he doesn't know it.  He's so perceptive of other people's feelings and that's a good thing for me.  What I need is someone who picks up on my feelings and forces me to talk about them.  It's bad for me to hold in those feelings and talking about them makes me feel better.  Plus, Cye is very attentive.  He gives people all of his attention, which is another thing I need.  I need someone who will listen to me to help me get through this.  And he seems genuinely concerned and I feel like I can talk to him.  Those are just some of the things that attract me to him.  There is something about him that I am automatically attracted to and was automatically attracted to him when I first met him a month ago.  Actually, now that I think about it, I think I'm in love with him.  And I'm too scared to tell him.  

I had no problems telling my crushes that I liked them, but that was a different thing.  This light-headed, free, safe feeling I get in the pit of my stomach whenever I see him is what I'm pretty sure is love.  Telling him that I love him is going to be a totally different thing.  Love is something that I am very serious about, seeing how that's where part of my power comes from, and I don't want to tell him too early and have him be scared off.  Having that happen would be the worst thing for my self-esteem and I don't think I could handle that rejection that I know will happen if I tell him that I love him now.  

So, I will wait and see what his feelings for me are before I make my move; I have to be absolutely certain before I tell him that.  Don't want my heart getting squished, now do we?  But, for now, even if I can't be with him the way I want to, I'll be content to just be in his presence and let his positive attitude wash over me in waves, making me feel better about myself.  

I sigh and settle down even more to watch him swim.  He really is an excellent swimmer.  Maybe it's his connection to water.  I don't know.  He swims for about 10 more minutes, making the total about 25 minutes, before he stops swimming and gets out of the water.  Ooh, this is my favorite part.  

As he makes his way towards my lawn chair, where his towel is, I just about faint again, all rational thought leaving my mind and my eyes opening wide underneath my sunglasses.  His hair is slicked back with water and his body is drenched.  My eyes travel up and down his body, pausing to watch a drop of water make its way down his chest, stopping when it hits the waistband of his swimsuit.  And speaking of which, his swimsuit, which is heavy with water, clings to him, clearly accentuating everything.  He picks up his towel off the ground and I watch as he begins to dry himself off, his hands with their long graceful fingers holding onto the towel.  

He has artist's fingers: long, graceful, and sensitive.  A few days ago, I watched him carefully as he molded clay on the pottery wheel into a bowl, careful to make sure it was perfect.  I watched him caress the clay and vainly wished that he would touch me with those fingers.  I find myself now wondering what it would be like to have his hands on my body.  At that unbidden, yet deeply desired, thought, I blush, feeling myself turn crimson.  Cye looks down at me with a worried look on his face.  He lays a hand on my shoulder and shakes me, obviously trying to wake me up.  I jerk my body to look like I'm waking up and moan lightly as if I've been rudely awakened.  I close my eyes before removing my sunglasses, only adding to the charade, and open them slowly to see Cye hovering over me.  "Hey sleepyhead," he says softly.

"What?" I ask him, my voice equally as soft.

"Well, I thought I'd wake you up.  You face looks a little burnt."  I laugh inwardly.  That's not sunburn, that's a blush; I don't burn easily.  But, there he goes again, always thinking of others before himself.

"Oh, thanks," I say, still lying down on the lawn chair.  I cringe in surprise as a droplet of water hits my cheek.  I look up at him and say, "You're wet."

"Yeah, sorry about that.  I took a swim."

"I can see that," I say, indicating his swimsuit-clad body.  I sit up and he moves out of the way.  I look to my right and there he is, looking at me with a concerned look on my face.  His face is so close; I can feel his breath on my face and I want so badly just to kiss him; his lips are only inches away.  "Are you ok, Mina?" he asks me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Mina," he says, giving me a reprimanding look; he caught me.  He knows something is wrong and he's not going to stop pushing until I tell him.  Well, I'm going to have to come up with a good excuse and quick because I'm thinking about him and I can't very well tell him that.  "I'm fine, I'm feeling the same as usual."

"Are you still depressed?" he asks, concern ringing in his voice.  I just have to smile at him, a genuine smile.

"I feel better than I did last week.  That's an improvement, right?"

"Well, as long as you're getting better."

"I am, I am."

"You sure?  You're very special to me and I don't want anything to happen to you."  I smile widely and throw my arms around him in a hug.  "You're great, Cye, did you know that?"

"No, but thanks for telling me," he says with wit as he hugs me back, his wet chin resting on my bare shoulder.  Come to think of it, I can feel my body become damp as well.  "You know, you're still wet," I say with humor in my voice.

"Well, it your fault that you're getting wet.  You hugged me first."  I pull away and stick my tongue out at him.  "I don't need that from you, thank you very much.  You can keep your sarcastic remarks to yourself."

"Ah, I'm sorry Mina," he says with a sigh in his voice.  I smile at him again.

"It's alright, I was only joking.  I really don't care."

"But, if it hurts your feelings…"

"It doesn't.  Actually, your sarcasm makes me laugh at times.  I need to laugh.  So, thank you.  But," I say, standing up, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap.  I'm still a little tired and I want to sleep it off.  We're still going to that movie tonight, aren't we?"

"We sure are.  Unless you've changed your mind," Cye said and I can hear the disappointment in his voice.

"No, I'm still going.  Just wanted to make sure.  I want to be well rested for that.  So, anyway, later?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later.  Around 7:00?" he asks me.

"Right.  Downstairs, front hall, after dinner."  He nods at me and I wave at him before walking back in to the house, a little bounce in my step.  I almost forgot about the movie that we were going to see tonight.  I would have been very disappointed if I forgot.  I love spending time with him and I'm surprised that I almost forgot.  

I walk inside the house, passing the training room where, out of the corner of my eye, I see Raye.  She's looking inside the training room through the door, but she's not going in.  She looks forlorn, guilty even.  I wonder what's wrong.  Well, she looks like she doesn't want to be bothered, so I'm not going to.  I reach the stairs and walk up them.  

I finally reach the third floor after a few minutes of climbing stairs.  I've walked these stairs so much in the last year and a half that I've become used to how much energy it takes to climb them and I'm not winded when I reach the top.  I walk down the long hallway that leads to my bedroom.  The hallway is about 30 to 40 feet wide, which is huge.  At times, I'm still not used to the huge hallways that are in this house.  

I walk into my bedroom, passing Alex, Michelle, and Lita's bedrooms before reaching mine.  I love my room.  My bed is all done in silk, the comforter crème silk with flowers on it.  I take off my sunglasses, placing them on my dresser, before going over to my bed.  I slide onto my bed and lie my head down on the pillow.  I close my eyes, finally realizing how tired I am.  I can feel myself drifting off into a state of unconsciousness and I find myself wondering one thing.  What am I going to wear tonight?  
  


*Raye's Point of View*

I shouldn't be doing this, I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help myself.  He's just too good-looking to resist.  What I am doing can be classified as spying and I know it.  But I love watching him.  Right now, I'm standing right outside the door of the training room, cleverly hidden in the shadows, watching Sage do tai chi, his body moving in slow, calculating movements that test his control and concentration.  It's a method of meditation, as I learned from my grandfather, that's supposed to center your mind and strengthen it.  

Whoops, shouldn't have thought about that.  Thinking about that only makes me remember that my grandfather is dead.  And what's worse is that our relationship didn't end on a good note.  The night before he was killed, we had another fight and I didn't have the chance to say that I was sorry, which I really was.  I didn't mean what I said, it's just that sometimes my grandfather said or did things that would push my buttons in just the right way and I'd explode.  I know for a fact that I get my temper from my grandfather.  There's nowhere else it could come from.  

But, as much as my grandfather may have annoyed me, I still loved him.  I have fond memories of life at the temple.  Holding Sailor Scout meetings in my bedroom, chasing Chad around the temple with a broom when he sang…ooh, that one hurts.  My memories of Chad still hurt.  It's like a wound that hasn't closed yet.  And if Chad is the proverbial wound, then Sage is the proverbial salt being rubbed in that wound.  I don't know why, but somehow, my being attracted to Sage makes me feel like I'm cheating on Chad.  But, that's the funny thing.  Sure, I loved him and he loved me, but we never dated once, ever.  

Chad would also want me to move on with my life if something ever happened to him.  Chad would want me to be happy, as would I if I had died and he had lived; I would have wanted Chad to find somebody and be happy.  But I still feel like I'm cheating on Chad.  So, now I'm torn between my memories of Chad and my experiences with Sage.  I love spending time with Sage.  He's so funny and nice.  And we have so much in common.  We're both huge flirts, are skilled in karate, love to meditate, have purple eyes (which is really irrelevant), and have sarcastic, dry senses of humor.  The one main difference between the two of us is the nature of our tempers.  

The both of us have explosive tempers, the difference is that it takes him a long time before his temper explodes and I have a very short fuse.  But, if there's one thing I'm noticing it's that since Sage has entered my life, I've been much more calm and a lot nicer to people.  

As I watch Sage practice tai chi, totally captivated by how gorgeous he is, I start to feel sleepy.  For the last week or so, I've been really tired.  It's slowly going away, but it's still affecting me.  I think it has a lot to do with the fire reading I did for Sage last week.  One, it's a lot harder to do fire readings on dreams that other people have had because you have to try and picture their dream in your mind.  Plus, I was attacked by that guy in the fire.  He sent a blast pure energy my way and that really hurt.  Who ever he is, he's really powerful and I'm sure that his children are as well, who ever they are.  

Sage feels bad for making me do the fire reading, but he doesn't understand.  He didn't make me do anything.  If I didn't want to do it, I would have told him so.  But, I'd do anything for Sage.  I'm not the world's most giving person, but I know that if Sage asked me to do something for him, I'd do it in a heartbeat, I love him that much.  Wait, I love him?  I pull away from the door slightly and try and calm my now beating heart.  Me?  In love again?  "I love him," I whisper to myself.  Hearing myself say that makes me feel giddy and tingly all over.  A huge smile appears on my face.  

I am in love with Sage Date.  But, then, I remember Chad and my recently inflated spirits deflate faster than I'm able to stop.  If I felt guilty before, I feel really guilty now.  Now I really feel like I'm betraying Chad's memory by being in love with Sage.  I slide down the wall I'm leaning on and rest my head on my knees, hugging my knees close to my chest.  "Oh man, life really sucks," I whisper into my lap.  I know that I can't be with Sage until I finally get over Chad, but it's going to be a while before that happens.  Chad was my first true love, even though he didn't know it.  Two years hasn't nearly been enough time for me to get over him.  And I don't even know if Sage even likes me the way I like him, much less love me.  

I am sitting right by the door, so I only have to turn my head to see inside the training room.  I can see Sage walk over to where a pile of his stuff is and grab a water bottle, taking a swig of it.  He pulls off the wife-beater he's wearing, leaving him in only gray sweats.  I shut my eyes tightly and groan softly in frustration.  It's not fair.  That guy has a positively gorgeous body and I can't be with him.  Life really does suck.  I hear his feet padding on the floor of the training room.  I open my eyes to see him walking to the middle of the floor.  He stands with his feet together, his hands pressed together and his eyes closed he looks like he's ready to practice forms, but I decide to interrupt him.  

Standing up I walk into the room and say, "Well, look who's practicing."  I smile a wide grin as he jumps a few feet into the air.  He, he, I caught him off guard.  It's not every day one can do that.  He's usually so impenetrable, so perceptive to what's going on around him that one can't usually surprise him like that.  His eyes open wide and they meet mine almost immediately, purple challenging purple.  When he realizes that it's me, his stance relaxes and his eyes soften a bit.  "Oh, Raye, it's you.  Seesh, you scared me."  I only smile wider and let out a little giggle.  "I know," I say, "It's so much fun to try and catch you off guard."

"You're cruel," he says jokingly.

"I know," I say.  He looks me up and down, making me feel a little uncomfortable, taking in my outfit, which consists of an open button-up shirt, a sports bra, and bicycle shorts.  I, too, am barefoot.  "Why are you here?" he asks me.

"Well, I was heading down to the weight room when I saw you in here and decided to say hi."  He doesn't have to know that the decision time took me about 10 minutes of staring at him.

"Oh," he says simply.

"I see you were getting ready to practice forms.  Wanna spar instead?" I ask him.  I see his face light up slightly.  He may be in control of his emotions, but he's just as male as the normal teenage boy is.  He'd rather fight against someone than practice forms.  "Yeah, sure," he says, but I already knew what the answer was going to be.  I strip off my button-up shirt and throw it up against the wall.  Taking the ponytail holder off of my wrist, I tie my waist-length hair up into a ponytail, keeping it out of my face.  

I have to allow myself a few seconds to get used to that shift.  I'm not used to my hair being up in a ponytail so when it is, I have to recalculate the balance of my body.  "Stop primping and fight me," Sage yells at me.  I glare at him good-naturedly as I enter one of the training arenas.  "Oh, and you're not vain, Mr. I-have-to-have-perfect-hair?"  He blushes lightly and says, "That's not the point."  I only smile and resume a fighting stance.  He does the same and our gazes lock, each of us daring the other to make the first move.  It is he who delivers the first move, a karate chop to my shoulder.  

That first simple move set off a flurry of movements made by the both of us.  We are throwing punches, delivering kicks, and basically, trying to get the other to go down.  Each of us has our own particular strengths.  I may not be as strong as Sage, but I'm lighter and faster, while he is stronger than I am, but not as fast as I am.  I throw a punch, which he catches and then he throws a punch, which I catch.  Locked in a stalemate, he starts to push me backwards, determined to make me falter.  Instead, he manages to step on my foot.  In a reflexive action, I bring my foot up into the air, which lifts his foot off the ground, causing him to lose his balance and fall down on top of me, pushing me to the ground.  

I hit the ground with a loud thud, the wind knocked out of my lungs.  Sage lands right after I do, half onto me and half onto the floor.  Our hands are still connected, but now his hands are holding my arms, which are spread apart, onto the floor, pinning my arms down, a move that was not intentional.  One of his legs is in between mine and he's resting lightly on my body.  I would revel in this feeling if I weren't struggling to breath again after getting the wind knocked out of me.  

Sage lifts his head, which was right next to mine, and looks down at me.   "Are you ok?" he asks as I struggle to breathe.  In between coughs, I manage to get out, "Does it look like I'm ok?"

"No, I guess not."  He stares at me for a few moments while I cough, trying to regain my breath.  "Aw, Raye, I'm really sorry.  I didn't mean to.  It was an accident."  Finally, I manage to get my breathing under control and I say, "It's alright.  I know you didn't mean to.  But, let's just call it a draw, alright?"  We smile at each other, still lying on the ground and are shaken out of our reverie when we hear, "What are you two doing?"  

We both look in the direction of the door to see Ami standing there, holding a couple of old looking books in her hand, staring at us.  She obviously wanted answers as to why Sage, who was wearing nothing but a pair of sweats, was lying on top of me, who was wearing bicycle shorts and a sports bra.  Embarrassed at being caught in this situation, I push Sage off of me and he lands on the floor with a grunt.  I stand up and offer Sage my hand, which he takes and I help him up.  Ami is still standing there, however, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her foot tapping impatiently.  "Well?" she asks.

"Ok, you see, Sage and I were sparring when I accidentally tripped him and he fell, pushing me down onto the floor and landing on top of me."  At Ami's skeptical look, I say, "It's the truth, I swear."  Ami switches her gaze from me to Sage, still looking as skeptical as ever.  "She's telling the truth," Sage says, "I promise.  That's what happened."

"Well, alright," Ami says, not pressing the issue any further, "Anyway, I'm headed off to the library.  See ya!"

"Bye Ami.  Oh, and by the way, you look cute," I say, commenting on her casual floor-length skirt and peasant top, the skirt dark blue and the top white.  She smiles at me and says, "Thanks," before walking out of the training room.  

Once she's gone, Sage and I look at each other before laughing.  Wiping tears from my eyes, I say, "That was so funny.  I loved the look on her face when she saw us on the ground."

"Yeah, that was pretty funny, wasn't it?" Sage says.  I smile at him and wipe the sweat off of my forehead.  That was an intense sparring match.  I need a shower.  "Ugh," I say in disgust, "I need a shower.  I'm going to go upstairs and take one and then I'm going to read a book.  What, I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out.  So, I'll see you at dinner, ok?"

"Yeah, sure, later," Sage says.  I pick up my shirt and walk out of the training room.  That's what I love about this house.  No matter how many people are living in it and how many things they're doing, everyone still has to eat dinner at the same time.  Lita makes sure of that and besides, her cooking is so great that everyone always attends dinner.  She says she's not that great, but she doesn't have any faith in her ability.  I make my way up to my room, a permanent grin on my face.  I guess spending time with Sage always puts me in a good mood.  Maybe being in love with him isn't so bad.

*Ami's Point of View*

Library, here I come.  I've been going down there a lot lately.  But, you know, if Rowen weren't here, I wouldn't be going down there as often as I am.  But, it's also the one place where Rowen and I can be with each other without being interrupted.  We don't mean to always be in the same place, though.  Most of the time, what happens is one of us is already down there and the other one goes to get a particular book and then the two of us just strike up a conversation.  But, lately, we haven't spent a lot of time in the library.  A lot of time is spent either in the pool, as I'm giving Rowen swimming lessons, or in the woods, where Rowen is giving me archery lessons.  

I grumble in memory of our first lesson.  It was how to properly string a bow.  I swear I still have little cuts on my fingertips where I was cut by the wire.  But, today's lesson was really nice.  Today, we started to work on my stance, which is great because Rowen has to get in really close to check my stance.  I almost fainted earlier today when he laid his hand on my stomach to get me to stand up straight, his other hand on my shoulder, adjusting the position of my arm.  He was talking to me and I could feel his breath on my neck.  He was talking to me in this low, tender tone of voice that made my heart skip a beat or two.  My whole body was almost shivering in anticipation of something that I knew wasn't going to happen.  I could practically feel his lips on my neck.  It took all of my willpower (and believe me, I have a lot of it, but it seems to be coming in shorter reserves nowadays) not to drop the bow in my hand, turn around, and kiss the life out of him.  

A shiver runs up my spine at the thought of him kissing me and I know I'm not going to get that image out of my head for the rest of the day.  I walk down the stairs and begin to disappear down the hallway when I hear Darien call my name.  I'm not surprised to see him here on a regular basis.  He's practically living here, which is natural, because almost all of his friends live in this house.  I think that soon, he's just going to move into this house and be done with it.  

"Hey, Ami," he calls out to me.  I turn my body and begin walking towards him.  He's standing in the foyer, sifting through a box of what looks like old books that's resting on one of the velvet-covered benches that litters the foyer.  "Yeah Darien?"

"There's something I want to give you."  He picks up two books out of the box and hands them to me.  The books are really old, I can tell by the looks of them.  I sit down on the bench that the box is on and open the cover of the book on top.  My eyes widen in surprise as I am greeted with ancient Greek text.  Lucky I can read that.  "Legends of Warriors?" I ask.  I begin to flip through the pages and find out that it's a book on our armors, all of them.  I slip the second book out of underneath the second one and open the cover, finding that it's written in the same ancient Greek text.  "Armors of the Immortals?  Darien, where did you get these?" I ask again.  I am amazed.  These books are obviously filled with legends and myths about the Ronin and Mystical armors, probably helpful information that I can use to help me understand the armors.  "I got these from a friend who lives in California.  He has a bundle of old, mystical and occult books.  I called him up and asked him if he had any books on ancient warriors who wore armor.  And don't worry, he doesn't know about your powers," he finishes, taking in my concerned look.

"Well, tell him thank you.  I have to go show these to Rowen.  I'll see you later, Darien."

"No problem.  Later, Ami."  I smile at him and rise off the bench.  I practically skip down the hall towards the library, where I'm hoping Rowen is.  

As I walk down the hallway, I pass one of the bathrooms on the first floor and can't resist.  I walk in and check myself in the mirror, fussing with my hair a bit.  I don't know why, but I feel very self-conscious around Rowen.  I do, however, really like the outfit I'm wearing today.  A dark blue skirt (with a slit that goes up to mid-thigh that I did NOT notice when I bought it) and a short-sleeved white peasant top, a very loose, thin shirt.  I look at myself in the mirror.  Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have worn my light blue bra with this shirt…oh well.  Not going to go change.  It takes too much time.  

I leave the bathroom and am about to continue my walk to the library when I hear a loud crash and then coughing immediately following coming from the training room.  Worry filling my mind, I rush down the hallway that leads me to the open pair of double doors and look into the room to find Raye on the ground with Sage on top of her.  And they ain't wearing much.  From the looks of it, Sage is only wearing a pair of sweats and Raye is in her sports bra and a pair of stretch shorts.  

I raise an eyebrow in interest.  What's going on between those two?  I must say, though, that those two look really cute together.  I stand there, silent, so I can hear their conversation.  "Aw, Raye, I'm really sorry.  I didn't mean to.  It was an accident," Sage says.  I can hear the sincerity of his apology in his voice and can't help for feel bad for him.  Whatever he did, he thinks it was bad.  I expect Raye to yell at him, but the words out of her mouth surprise me.  "It's alright.  I know you didn't mean to.  But, let's just call it a draw, alright?"  

Ok, that's it.  I need to find out what's going on.  Crossing my arms in front of my chest, one of my hands still holding the books, I say loudly, "What are you two doing?"  Both heads swivel to look at me and the looks on their faces dimly resembles a deer caught in headlights.  I almost laugh at that.  

I let out a silent giggle as Raye, who's embarrassed at being caught in that situation with Sage, shoves him off of her and he hits the ground hard.  Raye stands up and offers him her hand.  I half expected him to pull her back onto the ground as payback for shoving him to the ground.  But, instead, he takes her hand and allows her to help him up.  As cute as this scene is, I'm getting a little impatient.  

Tapping my foot on the ground as a sign of that impatience, I say, "Well?" expecting an answer yesterday.  Raye turns to face me with a light blush on her face.  "Ok, you see, Sage and I were sparring when I accidentally tripped him and he fell pushing me down onto the floor and landing on top of me."  Oh really, so that's what happened.  Didn't look like it to me.  

Raye notices my disbelieving look and says, "It's the truth, I swear."  My gaze switches to Sage as I look for answers.  I really don't care; I just like to see them squirm.  "She's telling the truth," he says, "I promise.  That's what happened."  I decide not to press the issue any further.  "Well, alright.  Anyway, I'm headed off to the library.  See ya!"  I begin to walk away when Raye's voice calls me back.  "Bye Ami!  Oh, and by the way…"  I turn and walk back to the doorway, looking at her expediently.  "You look cute."  My face breaks into a huge smile.  The first compliment I've received all day.  "Thanks."  I say before finally leaving.  

As I turn the corner into another hallway, I hear the sounds of their laughter.  I shake my head and continue walking, the sounds of their laughter becoming fainter and fainter.  I turn onto another hallway and walk the 40-foot distance to the library doors.  They were open this morning and now they're closed.  Hmm, someone must have been down here earlier.  I reach for the door handle and twist it, but find that it's locked.  I smile.  That means that someone is in here.  And that someone is Rowen.  I can feel it.  

I reach into my pocket and take out the key that I have to this door.  It's the only key that unlocks this door and I have it.  I slip the key into the keyhole and turn it, hearing the satisfying click as the door is unlocked.  I put the key back in the slim pocket of my skirt and open the door with a huge smile on my face.  From where I'm standing, I can see his sweatshirt hanging of the back of the couch.  I smirk.  I knew he was here.  "Hey Rowen," I call out, "Guess what I have?"  When he doesn't answer, my brow furrows in suspicion.  Why isn't he answering me?  Is he ignoring me?  Is he mad at me?  What did I do?  

I go around to the other side and suddenly all my questions are answered.  I smile very tenderly.  Rowen is sprawled out on the couch, asleep.  He looks so much younger when he's asleep, so cute.  This gives me the opportunity to look at him openly.  I sit on the large plushy chair that matches the couch, the library is filled with couches and chairs, and just watch him sleep, putting the books in my hand on the table that is between the chair and the couch.  He is wearing a tight, gray tee shirt that perfectly shows off his well-muscled upper body.  I am practically salivating.  

My eyes travel all over his body, memorizing every inch of it.  To go with his tee shirt is a pair of black warm-ups that totally complete the outfit.  He's barefoot, I notice, as he absently scratches his leg with his other foot.  My eyes work their way back up to his face and I sigh.  He has the most peaceful look on his face that I've ever seen.  A small smile is spread over his face and he just looks so cute.  His breathing is slow and even, a sign that he is deep in sleep.  

I shake my head and let him sleep, picking up the book that is titled Legends of Warriors.  It is really very interesting.  It talks about the original wearers of the armor and all of the attacks that go with them, including the combined attacks that can be created when two or more attacks are combined.  I gasp as I read the combinations.  They're almost endless.  There's even an attack that comes if all of the armors' attacks are combined.  I also find information of 5 armors that we haven't seen before.  Three of them we've heard about: the Fate, Destiny, and Prophecy armors.  But the other two, we haven't heard about: the Soul and Spirit armors.  I wonder what those are.  I soak up all of the information, absolutely transfixed.  

As I near the end of the book, I glance down at my watch.  It's been almost three hours since I came down here.  Gee, only about two hours until dinner.  As I'm looking at my watch, marveling how time can fly so fast, a strangled cry reaches my ear.  My head snaps up, looking at Rowen, who's thrashing on the couch, muttering in his sleep.  "No, stop.  Please don't hit me."  I look on in shock, I can't even move.  I see crystalline tears slip out of his closed eyelids and my heart goes out to him.  

With a flash, I'm out of the chair and kneeling down on the floor by the couch, trying to wake him up.  But, to no avail, he's still in the middle of what looks like a nightmare.  "Dad, stop.  Don't hit me anymore.  I'm sorry, what did I do?"  A feeling of dread passes over my body.  We never talked about his family much, but I always got the feeling that he loathes his mother and father, his father more.  

He lets out a yell of pain and then, suddenly, wakes up.  I sit on the edge of the couch as he shoots up into a sitting position.  His eyes are wide with fear, his gaze moving everywhere around the room until his eyes rest on me.  I can see the tears in his eyes and I know he's really scared.  "Ami?" he croaks.

"Yeah, it's me.  Rowen, was that a nightmare?" I ask him, trying to force him to talk about it.  He nods and opens his mouth to speak, but chokes on a sob instead.  The nightmare has hit him hard and he begins to cry.  I can feel my heart clench in pain.  He's hurting so bad that I hurt.  But, I have to be amazed over the role-reversal.  

4 weeks ago, I was the one crying and he was the one consoling me.  Now, I can return the favor.  I gather him into my arms as he cries.  His arms lock around my waist as he rests his chin on my shoulder.  I run my fingers through his hair, murmuring words of comfort.  "Shh, it's alright.  It was only a dream.  I'm here for you.  Nothing's going to hurt you."  But, he still continues to cry.  He's leaning against me and I can feel myself falling over.  So, what I do is lie back on the couch, pulling him down with me.  His head is resting on my shoulder as he continues to cry and his arms are still around my waist.  "Oh god, Ami, he…he was hitting me and I couldn't do anything to stop it," he says softly, still crying.

"Who was hitting you?"

"My dad," he says and I can hear the bitterness and hatred in his voice.  

"Well, it was just a nightmare, right?"

"Ami, it was a nightmare based on real-life experience."  I gasp in horror in surprise.  "You mean your dad beat you?"  I can feel him nod against my shoulder, which is slowly becoming wet with his tears.  "Oh, Rowen, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, you didn't do anything.  Besides, it's all in the past."  I move my body so I can look him in the eye.  "No Rowen, it's not alright.  You're still hurting from this."  Rowen averts his eyes from mine and then I see a huge smile spread over his face.  "Hey Ami, nice skirt."  I look down and see that, one, my skirt is hanging over the edge of the couch because of the slit that's in it and, two, my moving down to his level has caused the skirt to ride up to my upper thighs.  I look back up at him and blush.  "Stop changing the subject, Rowen," I say sternly, "Why did your dad beat you?"  He goes onto explain that his mom left, and why, and that his dad blamed him for his wife leaving and beat him because of it.  

Somewhere along the line, I fixed my skirt, moved my body so that my head was tucked underneath his chin, and closed my eyes as I listened to his voice.  Even though my eyes were closed, Rowen knew I was still listening to him.  That's what our friendship is like.  He trusts me and knows that I wouldn't do anything to betray that trust.  

After a while, he stops talking and I open my eyes.  I look up to see that he's fallen asleep.  With his arms locked around my waist, no less.  So, now, I can't move.  Not that I want to, anyway.  Sighing, I flip open my wrist communicator.  The other Mystical Warriors and I still wear our communicators in case of emergency.  Pressing the symbol that will hail Lita, I wait until I see her face.  "Hey Ami, what's up.  Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong.  It's just that Rowen and I won't be able to make it to dinner.  He was asleep in the library and he had a nightmare.  I comforted him and now he's fallen asleep again with his arms locked around my waist and I can't get them off.  And I really don't want to wake him up."  I see a mischievous look spread over her face.  "Right.  You just like being in his arms, don't you?"

"Well, there's that too," I say, "Ok, just tell everyone that Rowen and I are knee-deep in research about the armors and can't be interrupted for dinner."

"I'll do that.  Good luck with Rowen, Ami."

"Lita, get your mind out of the gutter," I say before turning off the communication.  I look back up at Rowen and see the peaceful look on his face, but there are still tear marks on his face.  But, he looks so much happier.  Snuggling up to him, I press my head to his chest, hearing his steady heartbeat, a sound that lulls me to sleep and I fade into unconsciousness.  

Some time later, I wake up and find that Rowen still has his arms around me.  This time, however, one of his legs is thrown over mine, preventing any movement on my part.  I sigh contently and lift my wrist to check what time it is.  I almost scream in shock.  It's 11:30?  Wow, time flies by really quickly when you're asleep.  "Ami?"  I slowly lift up my head to look at Rowen, who is now awake and looking down at me.  "Yeah?" I ask.

"Why are you here and in my arms?"

"Um, because you had a nightmare and you wouldn't let go of me when I was comforting you and then you fell asleep and I couldn't get your arms off."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright.  I fell asleep too."  I feel Rowen take his leg off of mine, but he still hasn't let go of my waist yet.  "You stayed," he says, smiling.

"Yeah, I stayed."

"Why?"

"Why?  That's a stupid question.  Rowen, I care about you and you needed someone.  I couldn't sit by and watch you stay hurt and not do something about it."

"You…care about me?"

"Yes, in the short time that I've known you, you've become one of my best friends.  I'd do almost anything for you."  He sighs happily.

"You don't know what that means to me.  I mean, I know the guys would risk their lives for me and I know that Mia is one of my close friends, but I don't think that they're as close to me as you are right now.  I know I have more of a history with them than I do with you, but I've opened up a whole lot more to you than I've done with the guys.  And you've given me the same back.  I just wanted to tell you thank you."  I smile at him widely.

"Well, then if you're thanking me for that, then I'm going to have to tell you thank you for the same thing."  He smiles down at me and I feel my heart skip a beat.  Oh yeah, I am definitely in love.

*Lita's Point of View*

Where is that damn shirt?  Ugh, I don't like the feeling of standing half naked in my bedroom.  Right now, all I have on is the bottom half of my silk green pajamas and I'm looking for the tank top that goes with it.  It is a quarter to 1 in the morning and I'm still up.  Why?  Because I was watching TV downstairs.  There was this really great romantic-comedy that was on and Mina and I stayed up to watch it.  That is, of course, after she returned from the movies with Cye.  I swear those two are inseparable.  But, I'm happy for my best friend.  She deserves someone like Cye and they are just so cute together.  

But, best friends aside, I am now standing, half naked, in my bedroom, digging through my dresser drawer for the shirt I swear I left on my bed.  Suddenly, a flash of green silk catches my eyes.  "Aha, gotcha!" I say, my hand wrapping around the shirt.    
"Lita?" I hear a male voice say right before my door opens.  I let out a scream, an actual scream, as I clutch my shirt to my chest in an attempt to cover myself up.  My eyes focus on who it is and I see Kento standing there, a blush spreading over his face and gaping like a guppy.  "Don't you knock before entering someone's bedroom?"

"Lita, I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"It's ok.  Just hold on a moment."  I turn around and unfold the shirt, putting it on.  Now that I am decently covered, I can turn around and face him.  Smiling at his still very embarrassed look, I say, "Well, what brings you up to my room at…" I trail off, looking at the clock that's on my nightstand, "12:49 in the morning."  His embarrassed look disappears, leaving the smiling face that I am so used to.  "There's something I want to show you," he says simply.

"Where is it?" I ask.

"It's outside.  I just found it and I wanted to show you."

"Oh, so is that where you disappeared off to after dinner?" I ask.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Well, kitchen buddy," I say, putting an emphasis on "kitchen buddy", "you left me to do the dishes by myself.  I tried to get somebody else to do it, but I couldn't find anyone."  I giggle at that memory.  Before Kento came along and began helping me in the kitchen, Ami always used to help me.  So, I figured that she was finished with Rowen and could help me in the kitchen.  I walked into the library and over to the couch to find Ami and Rowen asleep in each other's arms.  Now, if that wasn't the cutest thing I've ever seen, then I don't know what is.  

Thinking about the perfection of the Kodak moment, I rushed up to my room, which is a long way from the library, grabbed my camera, ran back downstairs into the library, and took a picture.  And I must say, that picture is going in the photo album.  Actually, I took two.  One of them, I sat on the arm of the couch and took a picture of their whole bodies sleeping.  The other one, I got in real close and took a picture of them from their upper arms to their faces.  They just looked so adorable and peaceful like that.  Those pictures can, of course, be used at blackmail if ever needed to.  "I'm sorry," Kento says, apologizing for not being there to help with the dishes.  "But, I just had to see if I could find what I was looking for in the dark.  Are you mad at me?"

"No, but it would have been nice if you could have told me you weren't going to help me before leaving me by myself."

"Well, next time, I'll tell you.  But, come on.  I have to show you this."  Kento smiled, grabbed my hand and began pulling me out of my room.  Despite my protests, he wouldn't stop until we got to the bottom of the stairs and I yanked my hand away from his.  He turned around and said, "What's wrong?"

"I need shoes first.  Hold on."  I walked over to the foyer closet and pulled out a pair of my sandals.  Slipping them on, I said, "Ok, now we can go."  He smiled at me, a smile that reached his eyes and warmed my heart, before saying, "Ok, great."  He grabbed my hand again and proceeded to lead me outside and into the woods.  "Kento, where are we going?" I ask, not really expecting an answer.

"You'll see," he says cryptically.  I was right.  But, whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be great.  I wouldn't expect anything less from Kento.  And it's going to be great because it's going to be done whole-heartedly.  I've found that with Kento, there is no such thing as a half-assed job.  It's either all or nothing and when it comes to his friends, Kento's willing to give everything he's got.  It's part of his charm and it's one of the things that I love about him.  He also hates to see his friends depressed, so, once again, he does everything in his power to cheer them up.  

Like, Kento and I have been noticing that Ryo hasn't been the same Ryo that we're used to.  I watched a few days ago as Kento did everything he could to cheer him up.  He offered to play football with him, he told jokes and funny stories, but nothing would cheer him up and it upset Kento like you would never believe.  He's such a caring person; he has a huge heart and he wears it on his sleeve.  It may get him in trouble emotionally, but you'd have to be fool to not see what a sweetie he is.  

And it's not only his personality that I'm attracted to.  It's him.  I mean, he's not the most likely guy that all the girls would be flocking over, but he definitely doesn't lack in the looks department.  I don't know, there's just something about him that attracts me physically to him.  All I know is that he's got a great body, all hard muscle, and these deep blue-gray eyes that I could get lost into.  In fact, I already have a few times.  In the two times that we've almost kissed (rats!) I've nearly drowned in his eyes.  His emotions are displayed in those eyes, their blue-gray depths swirling and churning with emotion.  

And I've noticed something really cool about his eyes.  When he gets mad, his eyes turn more gray and when he's more relaxed, his eyes tend to be more blue.  I guess that fits Kento perfectly though.  He has two sides to him.  There's the really calm, laid-back side to Kento that's always in a good mood and ready to party and then there's short-tempered, irrational side of Kento.  Kinda reminds me of me, actually.  

I find as we trek through the woods that one, it's cold, and two, he still hasn't let go of my hand yet.  Hey, I'm not complaining.  I love the way it feels to have our hands connected.  Makes me wonder what it would be like to be in his arms.  I bet it would feel safe and warm and absolutely perfect.  Oh, if only we hadn't gotten interrupted with those two near-kisses.  But, there's no changing the past.  What's done is done.  I just wish it were done differently.  After a while, I notice that everything is starting to look the same.  "Um, Kento, I don't think we're getting anywhere."

"Yes we are, we're almost there.  Just hang on."  
"Ok, whatever you say."  I should have listened to him.  A few moments later, we break into a clearing and I gasp in surprise and awe.  In front of me is the most gorgeous view I've ever seen.  I can see the city lights below and the stars above, creating a beautiful scene that makes me breathless.  "Wow, Kento, this is beautiful."

"I know.  That's why I wanted to show it to you," he said, "Of course, it doesn't look as beautiful during the day, so that's why I disappeared after dinner: to make sure that the view was still beautiful.  Only now, that it's night, it's even more beautiful."

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask.

"Well, I thought you might like it and I wanted to share it with you."

"Well, I've very touched, really.  But, why do you do all these nice things for me?"  I have to ask.  Kento has done so many things for me.  He's gone on walks with me, he's done my hair (which I absolutely love when he does; he's so good at it), he helps me out in the kitchen, and then he goes and does this for me: shows me this awesome view.  "Well," he said, "You're my friend and I always like to do nice things for my friends.  Especially close friends."

"Am I one of your close friends?" I ask him, my heart jumping up into my throat.

"Of course you are, Lita.  Why wouldn't you be?"  I can feel tears sting my eyes.  I wish I could be like him: so trusting and open.  He reminds me of Serena in a lot of ways.  I can remember the first time I met Serena.  She pulled a classic Kento move.  She saw my lunch and wanted some of it.  She had heard rumors about my violent nature, but she ignored them.  When I asked her if she was scared of me, she asked me why she should be.  All the walls that I built around my heart to protect me from people who wanted to hurt me just crumbled on the spot.  Well, what was left of those walls just disappeared forever.  

A joyous smile spreading over my face, I throw my arms around Kento and hug him tightly.  His arms wrap around me in a hug and I smile even wider.  I was right; being in his arms is very safe and warm.  "Thank you," I whisper before pulling away.  He only shrugs it off, becoming masculine again.  Heh, typical guy.  

A cool breeze flutters by and I shiver involuntarily.  My hands come up to warm the skin of my upper arms.  I wish I had the foresight to bring a sweater because this tank top isn't cutting it.  Kento notices my shiver and says, "You're cold.  Well, here you go."  He takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to me.  Now he's only wearing jeans and an orange tee shirt.  "Aren't you going to get cold?"

"I'll survive.  Besides, it's not that cold."  I want to give it back, but I stop myself.  I know that Kento will only shove the sweatshirt back into my arms.  Hell, if he's stubborn enough, he just might put the sweatshirt on me himself.  I smile at him again and slip on the sweatshirt.  It's warm and big, but not too big.  I'm as tall as he is, but not as muscular, so the sweatshirt is kinda baggy on me.  We stand there, looking at the night sky for a few moments longer, before I say, "Alright, do you want to head back now?"  
"Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired.  Lets go," he says, grabbing my hand again.  We make our way back in silence, the only thing to be heard the sound of our feet hitting the ground as we walk.  

We enter the warm sanctuary of Celia's house (even though I've been living there for a year and a half, it's still known to me as Celia's house) and I can feel his hand let go of mine and I immediately miss the warmth that came from it.  We walk up the stairs and once we hit the second floor, we know it's time to go our separate ways.  "Well," he says, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you at breakfast."  He nods at me before disappearing down the hallway to his own bedroom.  I sigh longingly.  I just wish we could be together and I could tell him how I feel.  But, I'm too scared to.  What if he says he doesn't like me like that?  I'd be crushed.  I don't think I could deal with that kind of rejection.  

Almost depressed now, I walk up the rest of the stairs and into my own bedroom, my private sanctuary.  I walk over to my bed in a daze and am about to climb in, after turning out my bedside light, when I realized that I am still wearing Kento's sweatshirt.  I hug it to me, cherishing the feeling I get from wearing it.  It smells like him, earthy and fresh, like he just came from the outdoors.  He always smells like that, though.  It's almost as if I can feel him with me right now.  

Smiling slightly, I climb into bed, still wearing the sweatshirt.  I really don't care if I get hot in the middle of the night.  Wearing it brings me closer to Kento.  I love him, I really do.  I just wish I could tell him.  

*Mia's Point of View*

Oh God.  Why did I do that?  Why did I run?  My dream had come true and I ran away from it all because I was scared.  But, why was I scared?  I guess it's because I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship with Ryo as much as I may want to.  There's still a lot of stuff in my life that needs sorting out.  Like, my grandfather's death and what that weird feeling I get when I'm with Darien.  Until I get the answers to my questions, I don't think that I can be with Ryo.  

But, why couldn't I have told him that?  I could have easily said that as much as I want to, I'm not ready to be in a relationship and that it doesn't mean that I don't want to be with him.  Ryo would have understood; that's just the type of person that he is.  But did I do that?  No, I just ran away, leaving him by himself outside.  Now, he's not even speaking to me.  Anytime I walk into a room, he turns the other direction and whenever I talk to him, he walks away.  I ruined what might have been the best thing to ever happen to me all because I was scared and couldn't tell him.  

I am a coward.  I can face Dynasty soldiers and the Warlords, but when it comes to relationships, I'm chicken.  And I wish I weren't.  Now, the only time that I can be near him is when he's sleeping.  Like I am now.  He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping.  All of his worries just leave his face and all that is left is Ryo.  He looks like a little kid in some respects.  

As I look down at him in his sleep, I start to cry silently.  Why couldn't I tell him that I loved him before I lost him?  If he loved me before, I'll never know because he probably doesn't love me anymore after the stunt I pulled last week.  I mean, if I were him, I don't think I would either.  I was down right rude; he has ample reason not to love me anymore.  I wish he knew how I feel though.  Then, maybe, he would talk to me.  

I feel something move against my leg and look down to find White Blaze looking up at me with curiosity.  I think that White Blaze can sense people's feelings; I get that impression by the way that he's looking at me now.  I scratch his head lovingly and whisper, "I'm alright.  I just feel like the biggest idiot on the planet."  I swear that I can see White Blaze giving me a reprimanding look.  Now I'm more than positive that White Blaze can understand people's emotions.  

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I take one more glance at Ryo before getting off of his bed.  With White Blaze following me close behind, I walk out of the room and shut the door once I know that I'm not going to close the door on White Blaze's tail.  White Blaze and I walk over to the stairs and climb them up to the third floor.  I can feel White Blaze next to me as I walk down the hallway to my bedroom.  

Opening my door, I motion White Blaze into the room and before I can stop him, White Blaze has jumped up onto my king-sized bed and laid his body across the head of the bed, covering most of the pillows.  "You silly tiger," I chide, climbing onto the bed myself.  Since White Blaze was lying on my pillows, I decide to use him as a pillow.  Spreading my body out on my bed, I lean against White Blaze and began stroking the fur of his neck, listening to the content purr that emanates from his throat.  Somewhere along the line, I start thinking about Ryo again.  

I remember when I first met him.  It was right after he defeated that Dynasty soldier with the other guys.  I think I fell in love with him then.  I saw the passion that he held in his eyes for everything close and dear to him.  Then, slowly, we got to know each other and I found out why he was so passionate about his friends.  Since he never had much of a family, seeing how as his mother died when he was really little and his father is either dead or lost in Africa, he treats he friends like family.  The other guys and I are like family to him and now it has been extended to everyone living in this house, especially Serena who was his cousin in the fabled Silver Millennium.  He treats her like a sister.  I've seen the way those two interact.  It's sweet and cute.  He acts like her big brother, even though she's a month and a half older than him.  

You know, even though Ryo is four years younger than me, I don't ever notice it.  It's the maturity that came with saving the world at a young age of 14.  In fact, all of the people living in this house act much older than they really are.  It comes from having to grow up too fast and having to accept a lot of responsibility too soon.  These warriors should be out having fun and living their lives the way I did when I was 15, not saving the world from monsters that threaten to destroy the planet.  

But, despite all the responsibility that was put onto Ryo's shoulders, he always found time to spend with me.  He would come and ask me how I was doing and during his breaks from training, he would come and talk to me.  In those talks, we became closer.  I felt and still do feel like I really know him.  But, I've screwed that up.  I know that I'm going to have to earn Ryo's trust back and that I'm going to have to work at building our relationship up slowly until we get it to the point that we had it before he kissed me.  Thinking about that kiss, I really wish I hadn't run away.  I loved the feeling that spread over my body as we kissed outside.  I never felt so alive in my entire life than I did when his lips were on mine.  Yup, I'm an idiot.  I've ruined my one chance at true love.  

As that thought suddenly hits the rest of my brain, my body freezes and I start to cry again.  This time, they're full sobs that overtake my body.  I try to quiet them so I won't wake Serena, but, she must have been awake because moments later, my bathroom door bursts open and through my tears, I can see a figure with long blonde hair.  "Mia?" she asks, "What's wrong?"  I don't say a word.  Instead of trying to figure out what's wrong, Serena walks over to the bed and sits down next to me.  Forcing me to sit up, she looks at me sympathetically, like she knows what I'm feeling.  Knowing Serena, she probably does.  "Are you ok?  What happened?"  Through my sobs, I manage to say, "Ryo…"

"What happened to him?  Is he alright?  Is he hurt?"  I shake my head and take a few minutes to calm myself down before talking.  "He's fine.  He's just not talking to me."

"Yeah, I noticed that.  He seems different this week.  Do you know why?"

"I do, unfortunately.  Um, last week, Ryo kissed me."  I see Serena's eyes go wide.  "Really?  He finally did it?"

"Yeah, and instead of saying something, I ran away.  I got scared and ran.  Now, Ryo probably doesn't even like me anymore and I've blown it.  I'm such an idiot."

"Mia, you are not an idiot," I hear her say.  My head snaps up and I look her straight in the eye.  "I'm not?" I ask.

"No, what you did is something you did out of instinct.  What you did is understandable.  You got scared and ran.  It's not something no one has done before.  And believe me, Ryo doesn't hate you.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  He loves you so much, Mia."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious.  Just give him time to heal.  And you're going to have to earn his trust back.  I don't like to say it, but you did break that precious trust and you and Ryo share and it's going to take a lot of work on your part to fix the mistakes that you've made with running away."

"So, you're saying that it's going to take time for him to forgive me?"

"Yes, and don't worry, he will forgive you.  He loves you too much to let you go."  I see the sincerity in Serena's eyes and suddenly, I feel better than I have in days.  "You're serious, aren't you?"  She nods at me and a big smile spreads over my face.  "Oh, Serena, thank you!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around her in a hug.  
"Aw, it was nothing.  I was just telling you the truth."  Serena finally spots White Blaze on the bed.  It has taken a few weeks, but, finally, Serena isn't scared of White Blaze anymore.  She takes her hand and gives him a scratch on the top of his head.  "You know," I say, "That tiger gets a lot of attention and scratches."

"No kidding," Serena says.  Then, her face scrunches in confusion.  "What's wrong?" I ask her.

"Why is White Blaze in your room.  Why isn't he with Ryo?"  I blush a bit and explain.

"Well, I was in Ryo's room, watching him sleep, and when I left, White Blaze followed me."

"Ah, so you're still watching him sleep?"

"It's a habit that I haven't been able to break."  
"You don't sound like you want to stop either."  I blush even more.

"Yeah, well, I think you're right.  But, if what you've told me is true, all I have to do is keep faith."  
"That's right, faith."  I nod at her and let my mind mull over that statement.  She's right, all I have to do is keep faith: faith in my relationship with Ryo and faith in Ryo as a person.  I smile faintly.  Yes, it will all work out.


	6. The First Day of School

Chapter 5: The First Day of School

-A month later, September 7th, 1998

Queen Metallia sat on her throne, deep in the heart of the Negaverse.  Her head was propped up by her left hand and in her right hand, she swirled a glass of red wine, watching the small whirlpool created in the glass.  She had a look of nonchalance and boredom on her face.  She wanted some action; things were getting a little boring around the Negaverse and in general.  

She pushed an errant strand of golden hair out of her face as she continued to bore her blue eyes into the glass.  She almost willed the glass to break, but decided against it.  She had gone great troubles to get the wine that was being gently swirled in the glass to break it now.  She was sitting almost peacefully until a voice broke her out of her reverie.  "My Queen, is there something wrong?" a throaty, female voice said.  She lifted her head to see her 5 generals standing in front of her, ready to please and eager to kill.

"No, nothing is wrong Labradorite, just bored, that's all," Queen Metallia sighed.  

Labradorite ran a hand through her white hair that was littered with orange streaks, her blue-violet eyes searching for what could be the problem with her Queen.  She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Heliodore spoke up instead.  "My Queen, if there is something bothering you, we'd be happy to take care of it."  Labradorite looked at the blonde-haired, green-eyed girl in disgust.  _Well, what do you expect from a brown-nosing bitch?  Labradorite thought bitterly.  _

It was true, those two had always been at odds with each other.  Heliodore had wanted desperately to be the leader, but turned bitter when that position had been given to Labradorite, who threw it in Heliodore's face that she was leader and not her.  The other two generals, Cairngorm and Almandine, tried to stay out of the line of fire.  Cairngorm helped in anyway that he could; he knew that even though Labradorite was very cold-hearted, a kiss from him in the right situation could make her very tender and caring.  Almandine was Heliodore's best friend and she knew what could calm Heliodore down.  With the help of Cairngorm and Almandine, Labradorite and Heliodore managed to avoid killing each other.  

The last general, who was the late Emperor Talpa of the Evil Dynasty, usually distanced himself from the rest of the group, his black eyes displaying no trust for the group.  Now, Talpa watched as the 4 other generals tried to play favorites with Queen Metallia.  "Yes, we'd take care of it right away," Almandine said, continuing what Heliodore was saying, her burgundy eyes with black dots looking sincere and her reddish-black hair falling into her eyes as she bowed in front of the queen.  

When the queen failed to speak up, Cairngorm did instead.  "My Queen, why don't you answer?"  Out of all of the generals, Cairngorm was the most concerned with the well being of Queen Metallia, his gray eyes filling with worry, his silver-black hair also falling into his eyes as he bowed to his queen.  "You fools," Talpa said, tossing his own black hair out of his face and looking down at the four generals disgustingly.  "Can't you see that the queen doesn't want to talk to you?"

"No, Talpa, they are right, something is bothering me.  It's those damn Mystical Warriors and their new allies, the Ronin Warriors.  I need to get rid of them."  The other four generals rushed to offer their services while Talpa's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in bitter rage.  "My Queen, did you say the Ronin Warriors?" he asked.  Ignoring the other generals, Queen Metallia said, "Why, yes, I did.  Why do you ask?"

"Because I have a history with those warriors.  Those are the warriors that defeated me not two years ago," Talpa said, clenching his hand into a tight fist at the memory of that last battle where the Ronin Warriors defeated him.  In that last battle, Ryo of the Wildfire, wearing the White Inferno armor, had gone into his body and held him in place as the other Ronin Warriors defeated him.  They thought that he was dead, but his spirit wasn't.  Queen Metallia sensed his spirit, recognized it, and brought him back to life, but as one of her generals.  She promised him that he would get the chance to destroy the people who had hurt him if he would help her.  

"Ah, so, do you request permission to fight them yourself?" Queen Metallia asked.

"Not right now, but I request permission to plan and orchestrate attacks against them and those Mystical Warriors that you are so fond of getting rid of."  Queen Metallia smiled.  She knew that if anyone could do it, then Talpa could get rid of them.

"Permission granted."

***  
Celia, Alex, Michelle, Darien, and Mia looked on amused as 11 bustling teenagers rushed in and out of the kitchen.  "Where are my shoes?"

"Has anyone seen my bookbag?"

"Do I look stupid?"

"No, you look fine."

"Are you sure?  I don't like this tie."

"Shut up, I said you look fine.  Quit worrying about it.  Now, how do I look?"

"Like you're wearing a school uniform."  *WHACK*

"I know that!  That's not what I meant."

"Ow, that hurt, and you look fine."

"Thank you."

"You know, if we don't leave soon, we're going to be late."

"Do we have enough time for breakfast?"

"There's always enough time for breakfast."

"I wonder what my classes will be this year?"

"I know, me too.  I hope I get the ones I wanted."

"I'm sure you will."

"Well, I'm sure you will too."

"I said, where are my shoes?"  Darien looked at his girlfriend, slowly sipping his coffee.  

"Serena," he said, "You shoes?" he said, pointing down to the floor by his feet.  Serena blushed lightly and said, "Thanks."  She walked over and picked up her black school shoes, slipping them on.  Lita stood in the kitchen, ready to announce that breakfast was ready and that they did have enough time to eat breakfast.  School wasn't for another hour and it only took 20 minutes to walk there from Celia's house.  That left 40 minutes for breakfast.  She just had to wait until everyone assembled into the kitchen so she could announce it to everyone.  

Once everyone was in the huge kitchen, she yelled, "Ok, nobody move."  All eyes shifted to look at Lita.  "I'd just like to announce that breakfast is ready and if you'd all get out to the table, then I'll serve it."  All of the sudden, there was a sudden rush to the dining room.  The only people who weren't in a big hurry were Michelle, Celia, Cye, and Ami.  Cye and Ami only exchanged looks before walking out to the dining room.  Cye took a place across from Mina and Ami sat down next to Rowen.  Eventually, Michelle and Celia joined them, but they first helped bring the food out to the table.  

Once Lita sat down, everyone started serving themselves.  This had become a regular routine for all of them.  The Ronin Warriors had been living with the Mystical Warriors for a little over two months now and had fallen into the routines of the house nicely, especially since none of them had to clean the house.  Celia had a number of housecleaners who mainly concentrated on the first floor.  To Celia, your own room was your own responsibility and you kept it clean yourself; you didn't have anyone to clean it for you.  

After a nice breakfast (of course it was nice, Lita cooked it) that consisted of eggs, fruit salad, and hash browns, the group was ready to go to school.  Heather was the only one going off to a different school that was all the way across town; so, Celia was going to drive her to school.  The rest of them left the house to walk to school.  The group of 10 was going to start their sophomore year of high school.  About halfway to school, Serena decided to speak up.  "I hate this uniform.  I hate it.  Why do we have wear it?"

"Well, it beats having to pick out our clothes before school," Cye pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I just wish that for once, we could wear our own clothes to school," Serena said.

"So do I," Mina said, "But, it's not going to happen.  And you know it, Serena."

"I know," Serena whined.  Serena continued to complain about going back to school and everyone sighed.  Although, most of the group didn't want to return to school.  The only people who did were Ami and Rowen, but that was because they loved going to school and learning in general.  Everyone was getting a little tired of Serena's whining and at the same time, Ami and Rowen said, "Come on Serena, it's not that bad."  Everyone only sighed again and Serena said, "I was afraid you'd say that."

***  
Later that morning, the principal of the school was going around and addressing all of the individual classes of the high school.  The principal reached the sophomore class, which consisted of about 80 students, and stepped up in front of the large group of children.  

Clearing her throat, the principal said, "Well, welcome to a new school year everyone.  I don't have many things to say besides I wish you all a good year and good luck.  You're almost halfway through high school, so, keep it up.  I have one other thing to say.  I'd like to introduce the new students."  Immediately, all of the Ronin Warriors blushed.  None of them wanted to go up in front of their new class.  But, the principal continued to speak.  "Would Ryo Sanada, Kento Fuan, Cye Mouri, Rowen Hashiba, and Sage Date please come forward and introduce yourselves?"  The guys froze for a moment and Kento said, "We're not the only new students in school, are we?"

"Well, it seems like you're the only new kids in our grade," Raye said, giving Sage a push forward.  "Go on, get your rear into gear."  The girls all gave the guys hearty shoves forward, which started them walking towards the front.  The crowd of students parted to let them through and once they got to the front of the group, they turned around and faced everybody.  One by one, they introduced themselves.  "Hello, I'm Cye."

"I'm Rowen."

"Hey, I'm Kento."

"My name is Sage."

"And I'm Ryo."  The five of them kept their eyes locked on the only 5 people they knew: Raye, Mina, Lita, Ami, and Serena.  They were ignoring all the other girls who were staring at them.  Through the crowd, one could hear the whispers of other girls.  "Wow, look them.  Aren't they gorgeous?"

"Look at that blond hair.  It makes me wanna faint."

"Look at those blue eyes.  They're the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

"I want the one with the auburn hair.  I think he's really cute."  As the whispers reached the ears of the Ronin Warriors and the Mystical Warriors, the Ronin Warriors could feel themselves feeling sorry for those girls.  They all had one collective thought: _ I will never go out with any of those girls.  I'm already in love with some one else_.   

The Mystical Warriors, except for Serena, who found the whole situation rather funny, were jealous.  They wanted all these girls to leave their guys alone.  They never knew that they could be so possessive of something that didn't even belong to them.  But, they didn't care.  "They will never get Sage," Raye said.

"I will not allow them to touch Cye," Mina said through gritted teeth.  Serena picked up on this and said, "Don't you think you guys are being a tad too possessive?"

"Serena, how would you react if Darien was being stared at 40 girls who only wanted to date him because they thought he was cute?" Lita asked.

"I'd be pissed off," Serena said.

"Well, then think about how we feel, Serena," Ami said.  Serena thought about that for a moment before saying, "Ok, I understand.  I can see where you jealously is coming from."  The guys walked back to the Mystical Warriors, ignoring the hellos of the girls that they passed.  

All the girls in the sophomore class were jealous of the 5 Mystical Warriors.  To them, why should those 5 girls get all the attention from the 5 new guys?  Little did they know that those 5 guys had been living with those 5 girls for 2 months and they were the only people the guys knew at their new school.  "Did you have to subject us to that torture?" Cye asked.

"Yeah, I agree with Cye," Kento said.  The girls looked at each other, one eyebrow raised, before looking back at the guys and smiling.  "Yes," they said at the same time.  The guys just scowled.  "Oh, don't be such a poor sport," Mina said, "We have to get to homeroom."

"Are we in the same homeroom?" Sage asked.

"By a miracle, yes we are," Serena said, "I checked while you guys were up there.  The list is right behind me.  Now, let's go!  Don't want to be late, now do we?"  The group of 10 made their way to homeroom, the girls constantly teasing the guys about getting up in front of the school and making the girls all fall for them, all the while, hiding the jealousy that they felt that all the girls in the sophomore class wanted to go out with at least one of the guys.

***

"Did the girls say where they were going to be?" Ryo asked as they looked through the school campus.  They were supposed to meet the girls for lunch, but they couldn't find them anywhere.

"Yeah, but they never told us where exactly.  I think they forgot that we don't quite know our way around the school yet," Sage said.

"Well, still, finding them should be easy.  All we have to do is look for Serena's hairstyle and Ami's hair color.  I haven't seen anyone else with Serena and Ami's hair type," Cye said.

"That's a good point," Rowen said, his eyes scanning the area outside of the school, where most of the students went to eat lunch.  The guys continued to search through the campus, looking for their friends, when they heard a female voice calling out to them.  "Hey Ryo, Sage, Rowen, Kento, Cye, over here!"  They all turned their heads to see Serena, waving at them, already sitting underneath the large branches of a humungous oak tree.  With her were Raye, Lita, Ami, Mina, and a few other people that the guys hadn't met yet.  They walked over to them and sat down on the ground.  "Hey," Ryo said.  Rowen turned to Ami and said, "You disappeared after Pre-Calc.  Where'd you go?"

"I went to the library.  I thought I told you that I was going there."

"Well, if you did, I didn't hear it.  It's ok, though.  I just didn't know where you went and was just wondering," Rowen said.  Serena turned to the guys and said, "I don't think you've met our other friends.  You guys, this is Molly and Melvin.  They're old friends of ours."  Serena turned to her four other friends and said, "This is Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Kento, and Cye."  Molly looked at them and said, "Well, it's nice to meet you guys.  Is it true that you guys have been living with them for 2 months?"

"Yeah, it's true," Ryo said.

"Why have you been living with them," Melvin asked, really curious.  He had heard that they were old family friends of the person who owned the house the 5 girls lived in and he wanted to know if it was true.  The Ronin and Mystical Warriors panicked.  They hadn't thought of a plausible story to go with that question.  So, Serena made it up.  "Well, you see, um, these guys are friends that we met over the summer.  They come from Toyama and when we heard that they were moving to Tokyo to go to school here, we offered to let them stay at our house.  Celia accepted and now, they live at our house."  

The others sweatdropped at Serena's lame story.  "Oh, so why do you live at their house instead of your parents?" Melvin continued to ask.  He also heard that they ran away from home.  

"Well," Ryo said, taking the reins from Serena, "It was alright with our parents for us to go to school in Tokyo, but our parents couldn't move to Tokyo.  Since they knew that Tokyo has better schools than Toyama, they let us live with Celia and the others."  The others sighed silently in relief.  At least Ryo was better at cover-up stories than Serena was.

"Oh," Melvin said, "That answers my questions."  The 12 students settled easily into lunch, unaware that they were being watched.  "Hmph, what do they have that I don't have?" Abby Simpson asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"I don't know," Rachael Thomas said.

"I don't see why they hang around those girls.  They don't even give anyone else a chance," Abby said.  Needless to say, Abby and Rachael were attracted to the members of the Ronin Warriors.  Abby crushed after Sage and Rachael really liked Rowen.  "You know," another girl named Ashley said, who had the biggest crush on Cye, "I heard that those guys are living with Serena and her friends."

"Really?" Abby said, "No fair.  They get to see them all day.  At least they could share them with the rest of us."  
"You know, I would just give up if I would you."  The three girls turned around to see Kevin, one of their guy friends.

"Why do you say that?" Rachael said.

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Kevin asked; he was beginning to wonder why they were even friends of his.

"Noticed what?" Ashley said.

"You don't have a chance with any of the new guys.  Just look."  The four gazes turned to look at the group.  They watched as Ami and Rowen stood up and, after saying their good-byes, walked away, talking to each other.  "Look at those two.  Don't you see how Rowen is looking at Ami and how attentive he is to whatever she says?  It's a clear as day that he really likes her and that she feels the same.  And then there's Raye and Sage."  

They all looked at Raye and Sage.  "Sage isn't taking his eyes off of her; he's practically staring at her and whenever she looks at him, he quickly looks away and blushes.  And Raye is staring at him as well.  And then there's Mina and Cye.  Do you see the way his attention is focused only on her?  It's like there's nothing else that's more important to him.  

"And Kento and Lita.  I mean he's all over her.  It's written all over their faces that they like each other.  I don't know about Ryo, but I know that Serena already has a boyfriend.  But, Ryo hasn't looked at any girl, save those 5, all day.  He's obviously not attracted to anyone here.  He probably has a crush on someone else."  Kevin had hit the nail on the head.  And the girls didn't like it one bit.  "Ooh, what do you know?" Abby said, extremely frustrated.  By god, Sage was going to be hers.

"I know plenty.  As a fellow guy, I can just tell.  I'm only telling you this for your own safety.  You can chase after them if you want to, but you won't get anywhere and you'll only end up getting hurt.  Later."  Kevin walked off, leaving Abby, Rachael, and Ashley very upset and pissed off.  "I'm going to go over there and talk to them," Abby said.  She stood up, brushed off her skirt, and got about two steps in the direction of the group of now ten when a loud crash was heard.  Abby turned her head to look to the left and she screamed.

***  
Somewhere in the Negaverse, Talpa watched as a small army of hybrids (AN: those are Metallia's youma mixed with Talpa's Dynasty soldiers.  Basically, monsters with armor) wreaked havoc on the earth.  He had sent them to earth with a purpose, to find the Ronin and Mystical Warriors.  It seemed to have work.  This was just so he could find them and be able to recognize the Mystical Warriors.  But, there was no bad in spreading evil and taking prisoners.  He chuckled lightly, the only sign of his self-determined victory.

***  
Back on earth, the small army of hybrids trampled through the school campus.  Ami and Rowen were the only people were able to get away and transform; the others were still underneath the tree and in full view.  They couldn't reveal their identities, so they had to stay as human until they could sneak away and the only way that that was going to be possible was for Ami and Rowen to transform in an out of the way place.  

Ami pulled Rowen behind a building and said, "We're the only ones who can do this right now.  We have to transform and create a distraction so the others can get away because we can't defeat all of them on our own.  Are you ready?"

"Are you kidding?  Of course I am."  Nodding at each other, the two transformed into their sub-armor.  "Armor of Strata!"

"Power of the Artic!"  Within seconds, the two were standing there, wearing their sub-armor.  Rushing out to the scene, Rowen surprise-attacked them by kicking one of them in the back.  The hybrids turned around to see Ami and Rowen in their sub-armor, standing back to back with their arms across their chest.  With a smile on her face, Ami said, "How dare you interrupt school?" Ami asked, "Don't you know that it's a time of learning?  You will pay for interrupting school hours."

"Ditto!" Rowen said.  He and Ami looked at each other before calling out their transformation lines.  "ARMOR OF STRATA!  DAO INOCHI!"

"I call upon the armor of the Artic.  Armor of the Artic, TO ARMS!"  Seconds later, two fully armored warriors were standing there, ready to fight.  By now, everybody was staring at the two warriors, wondering who they were.  Ami closed her eyes and concentrated her power.  "RAGING ICE STORM FREEZE!"  As shards of ice and swirls of snow hit two out of about 30 hybrids, who were busy trying to attack Ami and Rowen, Rowen managed to motion to the others to sneak away and transform using only his eyes.  The group got the hint and snuck away to transform.  

While Ami and Rowen fought against the hybrids, the other 8 ducked behind the same building that Ami and Rowen had transformed behind.  "Ok, we have to help them.  It doesn't matter what you do, just kill them, ok?" Serena said.

"Right!" everyone else said.  Serena nodded.

"Alright, let's do it.  Power of the Moonlight!  I call upon the armor of the Moonlight!  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Phoenix!  I call upon the armor of the Phoenix!  Armor of the Phoenix, TO ARMS!"

"Power of Lightning!  I call upon the armor of Lightning!  Armor of Lightning, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Heavens!  I call upon the armor of the Heavens!  Armor of the Heavens, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Wildfire!  ARMOR OF WILDFIRE!  DAO JIN!"

"Armor of Torrent!  ARMOR OF TORRENT!  DAO SHIN!"

"Armor of Halo!  ARMOR OF HALO!  DAO CHI!"

"Armor of Hardrock!  ARMOR OF HARDROCK!  DAO GI!"  8 armored warriors replaced the 8 students.  The Mystical and Ronin Warriors moved out to help their comrades and friends.  

Meanwhile, Rowen was trying to ward off the attacks of one of the hybrids with his bow.  He looked to his right to see Ami holding her own against a hybrid.  By checking up on Ami, he failed to see the hybrid sneak up on his left.  He didn't know until he hit the ground after being whacked in the back of the head with the spear that the hybrid was carrying.  "Hey ugly!  Why don't you leave my friend alone and try one of us on for size?"  

Rowen and Ami turned their heads to see the Mystical and other Ronin Warriors standing there, looking like they wanted to kick some ass.  Serena, who had yelled to the hybrid when it knocked Rowen to the ground, was standing in the middle of the 8 warriors.  "You've messed with the wrong warriors, buddy," she continued before taking her staff and yelling, "MOONLIGHT VANQUISH!"  She held her staff in her left hand as she swung it through the air, creating a bolt of light the shape of a crescent moon that hurled through the air towards a few of the hybrids, killing them immediately.  The rest of the warriors took on knowing smiles and the hybrids, who could feel fear, knew that they were done for.  "LIGHTNING SWORD STRIKE!"

"FIREBIRD FLARE!"

"BEAUTY SHOCKWAVE!"

"FLARE UP NOW!"

"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"  
"THUNDERBOLT CUT!"

"ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"  The rest of the hybrids were killed almost immediately, incinerating quickly.  The Mystical Warriors and the Ronin Warriors were exhausted and a little miserable about that fact.  They still had to finish their first day of school.  Serena ignored her exhaustion and went over to Ami and Rowen, who were still separated from the group.  "Are you guys ok?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Rowen said.

"What a first day of school," Ami said, "Huh?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Serena said understandingly.  This had to be the weirdest first day of school ever in history.  Serena turned around and was about to inquire after the others when she heard a noise behind her that sounded like applause.  She turned back around to face the entire school and every student was applauding the 10 warriors.  Serena only looked at all of them and smiled.

***  
_I like water.  Cool, refreshing, and absolutely heavenly after that battle.  I'm amazed that we were able to sneak away after that battle_, Raye thought as she got a drink of water later that same afternoon.  After the battle, they had been swamped by students from their school, asking them what they were doing and if they were related to the Sailor Scouts and other questions like that.  By a miracle, they were able to escape the crowd and find somewhere safe to detransform.  Raye finished up her business at the water fountain and was walking back to her literature class when she heard two familiar voices.  

Hiding behind a row of lockers, she looked on with interest and jealousy as Sage talked to Abby Simpson.   _Ooh, that little slut!  How dare she!  Wait, Raye, he's not actually yours.  You can't control his actions, though I wish I could.  She strained her ears to hear what they were saying.  "You mean you didn't see them?  They were amazing.  I mean, the way they fought against those monsters was amazing," Abby said, referring to the Mystical and Ronin Warriors.  _

"Um-hmm," Sage muttered.  Raye smiled a little; that was Sage's way of indicating that he didn't really like talking to the person he was talking to or he wasn't interested in what that person was saying.  

"So," Abby said, not beating around the bush anymore, "I was wondering, if you're not busy Friday night, would you like to go out?"  Raye's fist clench as she heard those words.  She was praying that he wouldn't say yes.  Raye and Sage had plans for Friday night; Raye, Sage, Mina, and Cye were all going out on Friday night to the park and then Raye and Mina were going to drag Sage and Cye to the arcade to play video games and relax, even if it killed the two girls.  

Raye, who was anticipating Sage's response, felt her heart soar with joy with Sage's next words.  "I'm sorry.  I'm busy that night.  It was nice talking to you."  With that Sage started to walk away and Raye pushed herself off of the locker she was leaning on and walked out into the hallway, acting like she had heard nothing.  Suddenly, she heard a voice call her name.  She turned to see Sage, approaching her.  "Hey Sage, what's up?" Raye said, still acting like she'd heard nothing.

"Oh, nothing.  Some girl, Abby I think her name was, just tried to ask me out for Friday, but I said no because, one, I don't want to go out with her and two, I already have plans.  We're still going out that night, right?"

"Yep, sure are, buster."

"So, where you headed?  I thought you had class," Sage asked.

"I do.  I'm heading there right now.  I just needed water.  Want to walk me back?"  
"Sure.  What class do you have?"

"Literature.  You don't have class now?"

"Nah, I have a free.  I was on my way to the library to get some of my homework done when I ran into that Abby girl.  Needless to say, I got a little set off my course."

"Oh, well, you can walk me to class and then you can head over to the library."

"Sounds like a plan."  The two walked back to Raye's classroom, talking about how their first day went.  They weren't as lucky as Ami and Rowen to have the same schedule, but that was Ami and Rowen, the school's top geniuses.  There was only one honors program for sophomores and Ami and Rowen were in it.  Sage and Raye reached Raye's class and before Raye opened the door to go back inside, she said, "So, I'll see you after school?"  
"Yeah, out front, right?"  
"You got it," Raye said before waving to Sage and walking inside her classroom.

***

"Are we all here?" Serena asked as they all gathered outside the school.

"No, not quite," Lita said, "Mina said she had to go to the bathroom and told us to wait for her."

"Like we could forget her," Raye said.

"So, is this a routine for you guys?" Kento asked.

"What's a routine?" Lita asked.

"Walking home together," Kento finished up.

"Yeah, actually, it is," Serena said, "Ever since we started going to high school together, we've been walking home together.  It's become kind of a tradition."

"Oh," Sage said.  Looking over to his right, he found Ami and Rowen discussing something.  

"What are you guys doing?" Cye asked.  Ami and Rowen only held up their Pre-Calc books in explanation before lowering them again so they could read them.  "Ahh, getting an early start on their homework.  That sounds like our Ami," Raye said.

"No, that sounds like our Rowen," Ryo said.  Ryo and Raye only smiled at each other knowingly.  

"Ok, you guys, we can go home now," the group heard Mina call out to them as she approached them.

"Great, home, here we come.  Ami, Rowen, put your books away.  We're walking now," Serena said.  

Ami and Rowen looked startled for a moment before closing their books.  Rowen put his back in his book bag and Ami held her in her arms as the two rushed to catch up with the rest of the group.  "So," Serena said, "How was everyone's day?"  Serena listened as she got many answers, most of them good.  She later turned to Ami and said, "Hey Ami, I don't have any classes with you this year."

"Yeah, that's too bad," Ami said, "But, I'm in the honors program at school, so that explains it.  That doesn't mean, however, that I won't be able to help you, Serena."

"Oh, no, I wasn't asking for help.  I just think it's kind of sad."

"Yeah, I know," Ami said, sympathizing.

"So, what classes are you taking, Ami?" Mina asked.  Everybody knew everyone else's schedule because for the most part, they were all taking the same classes, but in different orders.  All except Ami and Rowen, who were in the honors program.  "Um, I'm taking Ancient Literature, Pre-calculus, European History Honors, Chemistry, and Spanish 4.  There's a study period in there somewhere and it's always at a different time."  Mina nodded and then turned to Rowen.  "What about you, Rowen?"

"Well, I'm taking the same classes as Ami, in the same order, except for when she's taking Spanish, I'm taking French 4.  And Ami, we can either have that study hall period or we can go to computer tutorial."

"I know, but I already took that.  I've already learned everything that they teach in that class."

"Ah, gotcha.  That's why you didn't mention it.  I probably know most of that stuff.  I'm not an expert in computers, but I'm not the worst either," Rowen said.  Moving away from the topic of classes, Kento said, "Who is not looking forward to doing their homework tonight?"

"ME!" 9 other people said.  Each of them began complaining about their homework load as they reached Celia's mansion.  As they walked through the front door, Serena said, "Ah, home sweet home.  I get a snack, then I go upstairs and hole myself up in my bedroom until my homework is done.  With any luck, I'll be done by dinner."  As Serena stopped talking, everyone could hear the sounds of two people laughing, a male and a female.  Serena immediately recognized the male who was laughing.  "Darien, are you here?" she said, walking into the living room, where Mia and Darien were talking.

"Serena, how was school?" he asked as she leaned down to give him a kiss.

"It was school.  How was your day?"

"A little boring.  I missed you, though."  Serena smiled and gave Darien another kiss.  Everyone else had either gone upstairs, to the kitchen, or anywhere else but the front hall, where Ryo looked like he was going to explode.  Even though he knew that Darien was incredibly in love with Serena, he couldn't help but be jealous of the connection he had with Mia.  

He didn't understand what it was and it bothered him.  He hated how Darien could be so close to Mia when he couldn't at the moment.  He and Mia had been working on pulling their friendship back to where it was pre-kiss.  But, lately, Mia had been spending a lot of time with Darien, an action that made Ryo incredibly jealous.  Ryo, who had been standing outside the living room doorway, moved away, feeling dejected, right when Serena looked towards the doorway.  "Is something wrong, Serena?" Darien asked.

"I thought I saw someone standing in the doorway," Serena said, lying.  She knew who she saw.  It was Ryo and he looked jealous.  She was just going to have to talk to him later.  But, now, Darien was asking her a question and it would be rude of her not to answer him.  She looked down at Darien and answered his question, smiling, all thoughts of Ryo fleeing her mind.  

*****************

Ok, now, this is the last chapter tonight.  Feel lucky, you got three (two, technically) very long chapters.  But now, DestinyBabe must go read her Education readings and finish her pre-lab for Geology class tomorrow.  Review and tell us what you think, as always.  Thanks a ton!  ~DestinyBabe! : P


	7. Jealousy Rears It's Ugly Head

-7 months later, March 13th, 1999-

Slowly, she opened her eyes to the morning sun.   _Mmm__, it's Saturday.  That means no classes today.  Taking in a deep breath, Mia stretched languidly in her bed, feeling her sheets move against her body.  With a sigh, she threw the covers off of her and sat up in bed.  She shifted her body until her feet hung over the side of her huge bed.  She let her feet dangle over the edge of the bed for a moment until she pushed herself off and onto the ground.  _

Padding over to the bathroom, she entered and closed the door, locking it behind her.  She stripped off her pajamas and turned on the faucet to the shower, waiting until the water was the right temperature before stepping in.  As she let the warm water wash over her body, she became lost in her thoughts.  

_ I wonder what I'll do today?  Maybe I'll try talking to Ryo again.  We seem to be finally getting somewhere.  It's taken long enough.  Mia was right; it had taken long enough.  It had been a little over 9 months since Ryo kissed her and slowly, the two of them had been working on building their friendship back up.  But, there was something that was always getting in the way.  _

_Darien__.  __Darien__'s what's always getting in the way.  But, there's something about him that draws me to him.  I can't put my finger on it, though.  It's like I've met him before but don't know where or when.  I mean, I know I'm not attracted to him in that sense, but I do feel a connection to him that I haven't felt with anyone else before.  Almost like he really knows me.  I love spending time with him, but, if it gets in the way of my mending my relationship with Ryo, is it really worth it?  Is it really worth risking my possible relationship with Ryo?   _

Her thought's troubled, Mia finished up in the shower.  She wrapped a towel around her body and proceeded to use another towel to dry her hair.  She got her auburn hair to the point that it was only damp and she hung the towel up, finally finishing with it.  Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she walked out of the bathroom that she shared with Serena and into her own bedroom.  She got dressed, picking out a long-sleeved white shirt paired with khaki slacks.  

Once she was dressed, Mia grabbed her brush off of her nightstand and began to brush her long hair, glancing at the clock as she did so.  And that's when she noticed the time.  "It's 6:30 in the morning?  God, no one is going to be up at this hour.  At least, Lita isn't up, so, breakfast hasn't been made."  She smiled warmly at the thought of Lita, the only girl she knew who could hold and shelter Kento's fragile heart.  

_I really do love all of these girls.  The guys and I have been living here for 8 months now and I can see major changes in the guys, all thanks to the girls.  Sage is a lot more open now that he's met Raye.  Kento has matured a lot, but not all at the same time.  Rowen is just happier in general, a lot less moody and he's sleeping better, or so he tells me.  And Cye has overcome some of his shyness.  And Ryo, ever since learning that Serena was his cousin in the Silver Millennium, has lost some of his loneliness.  I can see it in his eyes.  Whenever he talks to me, anyway,  Mia thought.  _

The thought of Ryo and what she did to him still caused her pain_.   I knew I shouldn't have run away.  Although Serena keeps telling me that it'll be ok, I am beginning to doubt what she says.  I mean, Ryo and I haven't come very far in 8 months.  We're worse off than we were when we first met.  At least we were really talking when we first met.  Now, it's completely different.  I just wish I could tell him that I love him, but, knowing Ryo, he'd shrug it off and tell me that I was lying.  God, he is just so impossible sometimes._   

Mia put her brush back down on the nightstand and moved out of her bedroom.  She quietly made her way down the hallway, feeling the cool marble beneath her feet.  After 8 months, she still thought that Celia's house was absolutely amazing.  Every hard floor in the entire house, with the exception of the kitchen, which was done in wood, was made of marble, a different color scheme for each floor.  She looked down at her feet as she walked down the hallway and marveled at the dark green and rose color of the floor.  _ Celia really does have wonderful taste,_ Mia thought.  

She walked down the stairs, which were carpeted with a crimson colored carpet, and made her way to the kitchen, where she found a pot of coffee already ready to drink.  She poured herself a mug and walked out of the kitchen and back to the stairs, preparing to walk back up them, when she heard someone coughing from the living room.  Her brow furrowed in confusion at who it could be, she walked over to the living room entryway to find Darien sitting there, sifting through a book, looking rather enthralled.  "Darien, what are you doing?"  Darien looked up at Mia and smiled.

"Well, you're up early, Mia," he said without greeting her.

"Yeah, I know.  But, you didn't answer my question.  What are you doing?"  Mia moved from the doorway to one of the couches that sat perpendicular to the one that Darien was sitting on.

"Well, I'm reading."

"I can see that.  About what?"  
"Well, about something very interesting, actually.  I've discovered this new set of armor that I think Ami told me about once.  They're called the Soul and Spirit armors and legend has it that the only two people who can wear them are people who are siblings.  Obviously, it's family armor that gets passed down."

"Darien," Mia says, pointing out an interesting fact, "I think that all the armor is passed down from generation to generation."

"Not necessarily so.  Maybe in the case of the Ronin Warriors, that's the way that it happened.  But, with the Mystical armors, those armors choose the bearer and it's not necessarily the offspring or relatives of whoever wore the armor last."

"Oh," Mia said, finally seeing what Darien was talking about.  Before she could say another word on the subject, Darien changed it.  "You know," he said, "You're not the only one up this early this morning.  I know for a fact that Serena is up."

"Serena's up?"

"Yeah, she went out for a jog this morning.  I saw her run out of here at 5:30 this morning.  I was already up."  Mia was shocked at Serena's odd behavior.  Serena never woke up before 9:00 if she didn't have to.  

"Are you sure it was Serena?" Mia asked.

"Mia, I would know my girlfriend and future wife anywhere.  Especially since I started living here."  She nodded.  Darien had started living there in October of last year.  It was now March; Darien had been living with the Mystical and Ronin Warriors for 6 months.  He made the transition rather smoothly.  He had been spending so much time there that the only thing he wasn't doing there was sleeping.  

"Well, you can't blame me for being surprised," Mia said, "I live next door to Serena and at times, it takes the combined efforts of me and Luna to wake her up.  I swear she could sleep through a herd of elephants."  Mia and Darien laughed at that, not noticing the figure standing by the doorway, hidden in the shadows.  Ryo watched, unnoticed, as Mia and Darien laughed.  About what, he didn't know.  

He had just walked in the front door, finishing up his morning jog that he usually took with Serena.  Serena opted to stay outside a little longer, but Ryo wanted a shower.  He walked in the front door to hear Mia and Darien laughing.  As he watched them, he could feel the jealousy creeping into the pit of his stomach.  He didn't understand why she had been spending so much time with him.  Wasn't she at all worried about her friendship with him?  A lot of the times that Mia could have spent with Ryo, trying to rebuild their fallen relationship, she spent talking with Darien.  He liked Darien and all, he just didn't like how Mia was spending all of her time with him.   _Why doesn't she see that I desperately want to get our friendship back onto its feet? Ryo thought sadly.  _

Taking one more glance at the laughing pair, he slowly walked away from the living room and trudged up the stairs to take his shower.

***

"Ooh, ow, I probably shouldn't have tried to jump over that fallen log in the woods," Serena said as she limped her way back home.  She was in the woods behind the house and was walking home with a hurt ankle.  It wasn't hurt really bad, but enough that when Serena put pressure on it, it caused pain.  Her spirits rose as she caught sight of the house.  

She smiled and forced her body to move faster in that direction.  But, her smile faded as she caught sight of Ryo, sitting on one of the lawn chairs, with a dejected look on his face.  Her own face contorted into a look of concern and worry as she approached her "cousin".  "Hey, Ryo, why such the long face?" she asked, plopping down in front of Ryo on another lawn chair.  He looked away from Serena and said, "Oh, it's nothing."  Serena gave him a look and said, "Do you think I'm dumb?  I've known you for 9 months.  I can tell that something is wrong with you.  Did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened.  That's just the problem."

"I don't follow," Serena said.

"I feel ignored," Ryo said simply.

"Ignored?  By who?" Serena asked.  Then, it dawned on her.  "You feel ignored by Mia, don't you?"

"Yeah.  I mean, I've tried talking to her, but she doesn't say much back to me.  And, whenever I want to work on fixing our friendship, I always find her talking to Darien."

"Well, Darien and Mia are very close."

"And you don't get suspicious about that?" Ryo asked.

"No, I trust Darien.  Besides, he knows that you have a thing for Mia and he wouldn't interfere with that.  He just feels really close to Mia.  We've talked about this.  He doesn't know what it is about her, he just feels that he has a connection with her."

"But, you're still not suspicious?"

"No, I'm not.  And I know that you know that Mia wouldn't do that without telling you.  She cares about you too much than to ruin what she has with you."

"Then why won't she talk to me?"

"Maybe she's still scared of what happened in August.  I know she still hasn't gotten over that yet."

"But, I said I was sorry," Ryo exclaimed.

"No, that's not it.  She feels bad for running away from you.  She still hasn't forgiven herself yet.  And that's going to take time.  Believe me, she's working on it.  That's probably why she's been ignoring you, because she feels guilty.  But, with what's going on with her and Darien, there's no need to get jealous."

"I'm not…"

"And don't say that you're not jealous, Ryo.  It's written all over your face that you are.  You can't hide from me.  But, if it's bothering you this much, I'll talk to Darien about it and he can talk to Mia without ever mentioning that you had a problem in the first place.  She doesn't have to know how much it bothers you."

"Well, I know I'm not going to be able to stop you, so, go ahead.  I don't care," Ryo said, still feeling depressed.  Serena smiled.  She was going to get those two together, or at least speaking to each other, if it was the last thing she did.

***

"Muffin?"  Darien, who was sitting in his bedroom on his bed, felt his girlfriend cozy up to him.

"Yeah Serena?" he said, turning to look at her, putting his book down.  Serena smiled and kissed him briefly.  "I need to talk to you."

"Sure.  Is something bothering you?  Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, but it's not with me.  Um, I don't know how to put it, but, saying it bluntly, Ryo is feeling a little jealous."

"Why?" Darien asked.

"Well, you know how Ryo kissed Mia in August and she ran away and ever since then, those two have been at odds with each other?"  When Darien nodded, Serena continued, "Well, Ryo has been trying to rebuild that friendship that they had before they kissed, but he feels that you're spending too much time with Mia and that Mia doesn't want to be friends with Ryo anymore.  Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop spending time with Mia, I just thought that you could talk to her and say something about Ryo feeling ignored so she could reassure him that that's not what's happening."  

Darien looked pensive for a moment before pulling Serena into his arms.  "If I've been spending too much time with Mia, I'm sorry."  Serena snuggled closer to Darien and said, "I'm not mad at you, just concerned for Ryo, that's all."

"You didn't let me finish.  Anyway, as I was saying.  I'm sorry for taking up a lot of Mia's time, but there's something about Mia that I can't put my finger on.  Like I knew her once upon a time, but don't remember where, why, or how.  I've been spending a lot of time with her to try and figure it out.  But, whatever it is, I feel a really close connection to Mia.  Not like my connection to you, but almost like she's my sister or something.  But, whatever that connection is, I really like it.  It makes me feel happy."  Serena smiled.  She liked it when Darien was happy.  "I'm glad for you Darien.  I know you haven't really felt like that before.  But, I'm still worried about Ryo.  He really loves Mia a lot and she loves him too, but they both can't admit it to the other one with out worrying that they're going to scare off the other one.  I know I can't do anything about it, I just wish I could."  Darien kissed her on the top of the head.

"I know you do," Darien said, "That's the type of person you are, always ready to save everybody."  Serena smiled.

"Yep, that's me," Serena said with a cocky tone of voice.  Darien only rolled his eyes and teased, "Well, aren't we Miss high-and-mighty today?"

"No, I just worry about people.  Especially my friends.  You know I hate it when my friends are in pain."

"That, I do," Darien said, "You're a very caring person, Serena.  You have a big heart and you know what to do with it.  That's more than I can say about myself."  Serena scrunched her eyebrows and looked up at Darien.  "You have no faith in yourself, do you?" she said, pulling his head down for a kiss.

"I might if you prove it to me," he said with a smirk.  Kissing him quickly, yet passionately, Serena said, "And how do I go about doing that?"

"Well, I thought the avenue you were taking just a second before was a perfectly good way," Darien said.  Serena smiled knowingly and looked up into his midnight blue eyes.  "You got it, buster."  She only smiled widely before pulling Darien in for another kiss.  


	8. Soul and Spirit Come Barging In

-Two weeks later, March 26th, 1999-

Serena sighed as she suffered through an impossible geometry problem.  She glanced up at Ryo, who was sitting on the ground across from her, her eyes hopeful.  The two were sitting out back of the house, doing their homework on a late March afternoon.  "Ryo, do you get how to do this?" she asked with resignation in her voice.

"Nope," Ryo said, also trying to do the torturous math assignment.  Serena only shook her head in defeat before turning back to the problem at hand.  The two of them were silent for a few moments before Serena said, "I don't want to do this anymore."  Ryo looked up at Serena and said, "I don't want to do this either."

"I wish I were as smart as Ami or Rowen.  Then we would be finished with this so much sooner."

"Good point, Serena, but if we were as smart as Ami or Rowen, we wouldn't be in geometry.  We'd be in a higher math class."

"But, we'd still be finished so much sooner.  Those two are super geniuses.  I wish I had a fraction of their brains."

"We all do," Ryo said.

"Well," Serena said determinedly and resolutely, "I am not doing this anymore."  She set her pencil down on the ground by her book and closed her math book, sealing her homework in between the sheets of the paper.

"You know, me neither," Ryo said.

"I say we go out tonight."  Serena paused and then continued, "And bring Mia and Darien with us."

"That's not that bad of an idea," Ryo admitted.  In the last two weeks, Darien had talked to Mia about Ryo and Mia started spending time with Ryo.  Slowly, they were building their friendship back up to what it used to be.  Ryo was much more comfortable around Darien and Mia than he was a few weeks ago.  It seemed that Darien had spent some quality "guy-bonding" time with Ryo and the two were becoming good friends.  "Well, now that that's settled, let's go ask them."

"Wait!  Serena, where are we going?  What are we doing, hm?  We have to figure these things out first," Ryo said as Serena got up and began to walk away.  

Serena turned around to see Ryo standing up and picking up their things.  "Oh, right," Serena said sheepishly.  Serena's brows furrowed in deep thought as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.  A few moments later, Serena's face brightened up.  "I know!" she exclaimed, "We could go out to dinner, just the four of us.  I mean, we're the only people that are in the house right now.  Ami, Raye, Mina, and Lita are out spending some quality girl time together, Alex and Michelle went somewhere that they're not telling, Celia took Heather out shopping, and everyone else, except for you, me, Mia, and Darien, which is the other guys, is out at the movies.  That leaves us four in the house, by ourselves.  So, I say that we all go out to dinner and then, maybe take a walk in the park afterwards.  I don't know.  How does that sound?"

"I think it sounds fine," Ryo said.  He liked the idea.

"Cool, then let's go ask them."  Serena grabbed Ryo's free hand, the hand that wasn't holding their math books, and rushed off into the house.  The only time Serena stopped in her mad rush to either find her boyfriend or Mia was so Ryo could put down their books on the foot of the stairs in the main hall.  

Serena moved quickly, still dragging Ryo behind her, and finally, she found Darien.  Darien was in the kitchen, washing out a cup that he had just used.  Serena finally let go of Ryo's hand and as Serena approached Darien, Ryo shook out his hand to get the circulation to go back to his squished hand.  "Hey Darien," Serena said, approaching her boyfriend. 

"Hey Serena," Darien said, putting an arm around Serena, "How are you?"

"Me?  Oh, I was wondering if you were busy tonight?"

"No, I'm not busy.  What, do you want to do something?"

"Yeah, actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with Ryo and me.  We were thinking of dinner since there's no one here who can really cook, except for Mia, but I want restaurant food."

"Sure, I'll go," Darien said.

"Great," Serena said, standing on her toes to deliver a kiss to Darien.  "Now I just have to go ask Mia if she wants to come."

"Oh, I'm sure she will," Darien said.

"Do you know where she is?" Serena asked.

"I think she's up in her room.  I could be wrong about that.  But, go and check her room anyway."

"Ok Darien.  I'll be right back you two."  Serena ran out of the kitchen, leaving Darien and Ryo standing there, amazed.

"She has a lot of energy, doesn't she?" Ryo asked.

"Oh yeah," Darien said, "And the volume to boot.  I can't tell you how many times I almost went deaf after having one of our famous arguments.  That was a few years ago, though."

"How did you two meet?" Ryo asked, suddenly curious how the most solid couple he knew first met.

"Well, the first time I met her, she pelted me with her test paper.  Back then she wasn't the greatest student.  Compared to how she is now.  She's improved a lot since I first met her.  Anyway, after she hit me with her test paper, I insulted her and she insulted me back.  That went on for several months until I found out that she was Sailor Moon and I was captured, after finding out I was in love with her.  Then, she undid the brainwashing that I was under when she received her armor and the rest is history."  Ryo nodded in satisfaction.  "I can see the two of you arguing all the time, constantly."

"We still do," Darien said, "Although it's just teasing now."  Ryo laughed.

***  
Meanwhile, Serena was trekking up the stairs, muttering the whole time.  "Why does Celia have to have so many damn stairs?  I could trip and fall and break my back if I fell down these steps.  Why can't everything be on the same floor?"  Serena reached the third floor and swiftly moved down the long hallway towards Mia's bedroom, which was right next to her own.  

She slowed as she reached the door, gently resting her hand on the doorknob as she lifted her other hand to knock.  A few seconds after her knock on the door, a voice called, "Come in!"  Serena opened the door and walked in.  Mia was sitting on her bed, reading a book.  "Hey Mia, the others and I are going out to dinner.  You wanna come?"

"Sure, but who's going?"

"You, me, Ryo and Darien.  We're just going out for food, nothing fancy.  Maybe we'll take a walk in the park afterwards."

"Well, I'm up for it," Mia said as she rose from her bed.  Serena smiled.

"Great, let's go then.  The guys are waiting downstairs in the kitchen."  Serena bounced out of Mia's bedroom and Mia followed, smiling at her younger friend.

***  
Serena smiled as she laced her fingers through Darien's.  The couple was walking through the park after having dinner at a nice Italian restaurant.  Walking a few yards behind them were Ryo and Mia, who were talking animatedly about memories from the past.  At that moment, Mia was laughing as Ryo retold a story about Cye's attempts to teach Kento how to cook.  "This is nice," Darien said to his girlfriend.

"Yeah, it is.  I totally agree.  We haven't done this in a while."  Serena took a glance behind her at her past cousin and Mia.  "But, those walks were usually a little quieter," she remarked dryly.  Darien only chuckled at Serena before they continued to walk.  

The peaceful moment was interrupted by a large crash to Serena's right.  Serena snapped her head in that direction, and saw a small army of hybrids coming their way, probably about 40 of them.  Serena untangled herself from Darien before looking at Ryo.  "Ryo, it's time to go to work," she called out.

"Right," Ryo said as he pushed Mia out of the way.  "Armor of Wildfire, DAO JIN!"

"I call upon the armor of the Moonlight!  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"  Within seconds, Serena and Ryo stood there in their armor and all thoughts coming from those two were concentrated on destroying the enemy and keeping Mia and Darien safe.  

Giving each other looks of confidence, Serena and Ryo charged the army of hybrids, ready to kick some serious butt.  Serena smiled, almost maliciously, as she cried out, "MOONLIGHT CRYSTAL ILLUMINATION!" and a beam of energy hit one of the hybrids in the chest, destroying it immediately.  Ryo, at the moment, was busy with using his swords to cut through a small group of hybrids that had gathered around him.  

Mia watched as Ryo sliced through another hybrid, using his sword to lop off its head.  Her face contorted into a look of fear and horror as a hybrid snuck up on Ryo, unseen by both Serena and Ryo, and smacked Ryo on the back of his head with the heel of his spear.  Ryo went down and suddenly, hybrids were flooding over him, hurting him.  "NO, RYO!" Mia cried out, beginning to move towards him to help.  Darien, who hated seeing Ryo get hurt as much as Mia did, grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back down.  "No Mia, you can't help them.  You'd only get hurt."  Mia struggled to get out of Darien's hold as she said, "I don't care, Ryo is getting hurt out there."

"And what do you think you can do for him?  You have no way of defending yourself against those things."  

Darien was going to say more on the subject when his eyes caught a hold of Serena being kicked in the stomach hard and he watched as she flew in the air, hitting her back against a tree.  Darien let go of Mia's waist as his fists clenched and his eyes narrowed in anger.  Mia, surprisingly, stayed in place as she watched Ryo get beaten up, her anger at the hybrids and the Negaverse only growing stronger.  

Without words or any other indication, Darien and Mia started to glow.  Mia was glowing with a white light and Darien's body, if possible, was emanating a black glow.  Their anger at the situation in front of them being at its greatest, they decided to take action, not knowing exactly what they were doing.  Darien closed his eyes and called out, "Power of Spirit!"

"Power of Soul!" Mia cried out, following suit.  With bright explosions of light, Darien and Mia stood there, dressed in sub-armor.  Darien's was all black and on his chest was a silver silhouette of a lion.  Mia's sub-armor was all white with the same symbol on her chest.  With words never used by them before, they cried out their transformation lines.  "I call upon the armor of Spirit.  Armor of Spirit, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Soul.  Armor of Soul, TO ARMS!"  Each of them went through their own transformation, light of their color surrounding their bodies, creating their armor piece by piece.  The last thing to be created in both of their transformations were two identical swords, the only difference the material and color of the handles.  On Darien's, his handle was made of black opal and on Mia's, her handle was made of pearl.  

Once the transformations finished, Mia and Darien stood there in armor, identical to each other in everything but color.  Mia's armor color was a shimmery pearl color while Darien's was black.  The symbol on their chests were the same as on their sub-armor.  

Ryo and Serena, as well as the hybrids, looked on in surprise at the two new armored warriors.  Darien and Mia were just as shocked as they looked at each other, their eyes meeting.  When their eyes locked, the world around them faded and visions of the past came rushing in…

***  
Queen Morganite screamed in pain.  If she thought giving birth was going to be easy, she was wrong.  "Come on, my queen, just one more push," the royal physician said calmly.  Queen Morganite complied, giving one more push before the head of her baby surfaced.  The royal physician smiled, now holding a baby boy in her arms.  

The Queen, on the other hand, was not smiling.  "Why do I still feel pain?" she cried out.  The physician gasped as the Queen screamed once more, her labor pains still not gone.  Handing the baby boy off to her assistant, she said, "Get him cleaned up."  Turning back to Queen Morganite, she said, "I think you may be having twins.  You're going to have to push."

"Anything to get the pain over with," Morganite said.  A few more pushes and 4 minutes later, Queen Morganite was rewarded with a baby girl.  Morganite, exhausted after delivering two children, leaned back against the pillows and swallowed deep breathes of air in an attempt to regain her breath.  After a few minutes of calming her body down, Queen Morganite opened her closed eyes and looked towards the direction of the door to see the royal physician and her assistant walking towards her, a baby cradled in each of their arms.  "Here you are, Morganite, say hello to your children."  Morganite smiled as her son was handed to her.  Big, innocent, midnight blue eyes looked up at her wonderingly before he yawned; he was just as tired as she was.  

Seconds later, her baby girl was handed to her, which Morganite cradled in her other arm.  She looked into the face of her daughter, laughing as her daughter's tiny hand grasped a lock of her long, auburn hair.  The baby girl looked up in surprise at the sound, her emerald green eyes sparkling with curiosity at what the sound was before she too, like her brother, yawned.  Yes, it has been an exhausting day, Morganite thought.  As she sat there, just looking at her two children, trying to figure out names for them, her husband, Dominic, burst into the room and looked at Morganite in awe.  Morganite's eyes shifted to her husband and she said, "King Dominic, I would like to introduce you to your children: Prince Darien and Princess Mia."  King Dominic smiled.

***

-18 years later-

"Ooh, Darien, I hate you."

"No you don't," Darien said to his twin sister, lovingly pulling on a lock of her long, auburn hair.  She ruffled his black hair before saying, "I don't know why you have to tease me.  It's not nice."

"I tease you because you're my baby sister and it's my right."

"Well, I don't think you should tease me about my beloved.  It's not nice."

"Hey, I never said I didn't like Prince Ryo…oh, wait, that's wrong…King Ryo," Darien corrected himself, "I actually think he's a really great person.  But, he's going to marry my baby sister, so that means that I have every right to tease you about him."  Mia only eyed her brother wearily.  "Well, what about you and Princess Serena, hmm?"  Darien's face took on an unusual blush.

"What about her?" Darien asked innocently.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," Mia said as she shifted her body in her chair.  The two siblings were resting comfortably in Mia's bedroom, taking about such things as the people they liked and teasing each other about them.  "I saw you looking at her the night of her mother's party."

"I'm surprised you were paying attention," Darien said, "Because I noticed that you didn't remove your eyes from Ryo the entire evening."

"Yes I did," Mia said indignantly, "But only to look at you," Mia finished up.  She smiled at her brother as he blushed.

***  
-1000 years later-

"I wanna ride on Daddy's shoulders."

"No, I called it first.  It's my turn."  A 4-year old Darien stuck his tongue out at his twin sister, Mia. 

"Fine," Mia said, "I don't like you anyway."  Mia choked on a sob before running off.  Darien always got to ride on his father's shoulders and all she wanted was a turn.  She could hear her mother's voice call out after her, but she ignored it.  Tears blurred her vision as she ran through the forest where her and her family were having a picnic.  They were all about to go on a walk when Mia and Darien starting arguing about who got to ride on their father's shoulders and that's when Mia ran off.  She saw trees and plants move past her vision as she ran.  She ran until she couldn't run anymore.  

When she stopped running, she looked around the area that she was in and found that she didn't recognize where she was.  Instinctively, she called out, "Mommy?" expecting her mother to answer.  When she didn't hear her mother's voice, her eyes filled with fresh tears and her lower lip began to quiver.  She sank down on the ground, huddling her knees to her chest as she cried.  "I want my mommy," she muttered over and over.  She sat there in the middle of the woods crying for what seemed like forever to her when she heard someone say, "What's wrong little girl?"  

She swiveled her head to see an old man looking down at her concerned.  Putting on her bravest face, she said, "My mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Where is your mommy?" he asked.  That question brought more tears to her eyes.  "I don't know," Mia said as she broke down into sobs again.  Mr. Koji knelt down on the ground and took the little girl into his arms, rocking her gently.  "Shh, it's alright, we'll find your mommy."

"We will?" Mia said, looking up into the man's trusting brown eyes.

"Yes, but first, you have to tell me your name."

"'S Mia," she mumbled.

"Well, you can call me Mr. Koji."  Mia face crinkled at the sound of that.

"Can I call you grandpa?" she asked, liking that alternative better.  Mr. Koji smiled.

"Yes, you can call me grandpa, alright little one?"  Mia smiled back and said, "So, can we go find my mommy now?"

"Yes, we can."  Mr. Koji stood up and carried Mia off.  He had been on his way home from meditating in the woods when he heard the sounds of a little girl crying.  Now, he was carrying that little girl off to find her mother, earning the new name of "grandpa".

***  
A few months passed after Mr. Koji found Mia and he had desperately searched for her parents, but, not knowing her last name had been hard and he hadn't seen any missing children reports for children named Mia.  Also, only knowing her name and age made the search even harder.  

One day, however, his search paid off and he found Mia's parents, but there was one problem: they were dead and her twin brother had been placed in a foster home.  He then decided to keep Mia and raise her himself.  Mia grew up with him, forgetting over time all about her parents and Darien, celebrating her birthday on the day that he found her in the woods, May 28th.  Mr. Koji never told Mia about what had happened and had planned on telling her, but the Dynasty's attack prevented him from telling her.

***  
Back in the present, Ryo and Serena looked on as the two just stood there with blank looks on their faces, like they were in a different world.  Suddenly, the two snapped back to the present and looked at each other again, smiling broadly.  "Ready to do this…brother?" Mia said.

"Anytime you are, sis," Darien quipped.  Giving each other knowing looks, the two of them prepared to attack…


	9. Past and Future Become One

-Same Day, March 26th, 1999-

Darien and Mia closed their eyes as they powered up to do their attack.  Each of them holding their sword, they faced each other and pointed their swords at the ground, crossing the blades.  Their eyes still closed, they said in perfect synchrony, "Oh great guardian of Death, open wide the Gates of Hell to receive these evil spirits.  ETERNAL SOUL TORMENT!"  

A murky, greenish light surrounded the remaining hybrids, which were trying to figure out what was going on.  They began screaming as the light that surrounded them began sucking the life out of them.  They withered in pain as their energy and souls were being sucked out of their bodies.  As the light faded, the dead hybrids dropped to the ground with loud crashing sounds as their armor hit the ground, now too big to fit the dead hybrids, whose bodies were reduced to practically skeletons as their life was siphoned out of their bodies from Darien and Mia's attack.  

Darien and Mia, who were a little tired out from their ordeal, detransformed into their sub-armor and looked at each other with wide eyes.  Smiling at her big brother, in her past and present lives, Mia launched herself into his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck.  Darien's arms tightened around Mia and a few tears escaped his eyes.  "I remember you," he murmured, "I remember you running away and I remember feeling really guilty that I made you run.  I remember missing you.  I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright," Mia said, "I remember you too.  I thought that you were just a dream all these years.  I've missed you, big brother."  

Darien pulled away and looked down at his little sister, "And I remember you too, baby sister."  Darien paused and then smiled.  "And I can still tease you."  Darien laughed as her face contorted into a mad look and she started hitting him on the arm, which did no good because he was wearing his sub-armor.  But, nonetheless, he still laughed and tried to dodge her hits.  

At the same time, Ryo and Serena were looking on, confused as Mia hit Darien while he laughed.  They hadn't heard the words that were exchanged between the two and they wanted to know what was said.  Weakly, the two fallen warriors stood up and also detransformed into their sub-armor.  They walked over to where the two stood and could finally hear the words that were being spoken.  "Ow, ow, stop hitting me," Darien said through his laughter.

"No, not until you promise not to tease me anymore," Mia said, still hitting him, though they weren't as hard as they had been.

"No way," Darien said, "I've been teasing you since we were born and I'm not stopping now."  Mia stopped hitting him and turned her back on him.  "Hmph, some big brother you are."  Serena and Ryo looked on shocked.  "Big brother?" they both said, looking back and forth between Darien and Mia.

"Yep," Darien said, "In this life and in our lives during the Silver Millennium.  Isn't that right, Princess Mia?"

"Sure is, Prince Darien," she said with a smile on her face as her anger faded and she turned back to him.

"Wait, you guys are serious," Ryo said.

"You really are related," Serena said.

"Yeah, we're twins," Mia said.

"But you look nothing alike," Serena said.

"Whoever said that twins had to look alike, Serena?" Darien asked his girlfriend.

"Ok, good point," Serena said, taking Darien's point into consideration.  Ryo looked at Darien and Mia, relieved that what was going on between them was now brother and sister, but he was a little more interested in their new armor.  "That's some cool armor," Ryo said, "Where did it come from and why?"  Darien and Mia looked at each other and Darien spoke, "Well, when we saw you two getting hurt, that made us mad and triggered our armor.  It seems that the armor is triggered by anger or intense emotions.  That's how we first knew we were related because this armor is family armor and is only passed on to people who are related to each other.  It's the only armor of its kind.  Except for the Fate, Destiny, and Prophecy armors, which we learned about from Celia."

"So, those are the only three armors that we know about and haven't seen?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I wonder when they will get here," Mia said.

"Let's hope it's soon," Ryo said, "The more help we got, the better."  Serena smiled at her cousin before saying, "Well, we better get home and tell Celia and the others about this armor.  Come on, let's move it."

***  
When the four arrived at home, they were still wearing their sub-armor.  As they walked towards the front steps, Serena saw what she thought was the cutest sight she had ever seen.  Sitting on the front steps were Alex and Michelle, their lips connected in what looked like a tender kiss.  "Hey guys," Serena yelled with a smile on her face, scaring Alex and Michelle out of their skin.  

Both of them look flustered that they had been caught kissing and Michelle, who was the first to recover, said, "Where did you guys go?"

"We went out to dinner," Serena said, "and then we went to the park where we got attacked."  The way Serena said it, one could swear she was talking about going shopping.

"You got attacked?" Alex asked, her blue eyes filling with worry, "Is everyone ok?"  
"Yeah, thanks to Darien and Mia," Ryo said.  Alex and Michelle's gazes moved to Darien and Mia, who were still in their sub-armor.  Under their close inspection, Darien fidgeted and Mia smiled and gave a little wave.  Then, Alex and Michelle looked at each other and said, "We have to tell the others."  They got up and grabbed the two siblings and pulled them in the house, Michelle dragging Mia and Alex dragging Darien.  Serena and Ryo followed them into the house and into the living room, where everyone was talking over hot chocolate.  

Serena and Ryo rushed ahead of Alex and Michelle into the living room and everyone else looked up.  "Hey guys, what's up?" Serena asked.  The group took in Serena and Ryo's sub-armor clad bodies and immediately all became concerned.  "Are you guys alright?" Mina asked.

"Has there been an attack?" Lita asked.

"Well, there was," Serena said, "But we're ok.  And we have two new warriors."  The group gasped and Celia smiled.

"Who are they?" Sage asked.  Serena was about to tell them when everyone heard Mia call out, "DARIEN!!!  Take that back!"  The other warriors watched incredulous and Serena and Ryo smiled as Darien ran into the room with Mia on his heels, chasing him.  "No, I won't take that back," Darien said, "Teasing is you just so much fun."

"Stop it!"

"No.  It's my right to tease you…"

"I know, I know.  Because you're my brother and you have to make up for 16 years of not teasing me.  I heard it from you already."  Mia chased him out of the living room and into the front hall, trying to tackle him.  The rest of the house moved into the front hall just as Mia tackled Darien to the ground and began to wrestle with him.  

Serena and Ryo laughed out loud at the sight and the entire group laughed as Mia finally got Darien in a half-nelson.  "Do you yield, twin?" Mia said, putting an emphasis on the word "twin".

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry.  I take it back," Darien said in a pleading tone.  Mia let go and got off of her brother.

"Good," she said.  Still on the ground, Darien said, "You fight dirty, Princess."  Mocking Darien, Mia said, "I'm your little sister and it's my right."  Darien chuckled and said, "I deserved that.  Hey, help me up, will ya?"  Mia offered him her hand and pulled Darien up off of the ground, yanking his arm as she pulled him up.  "Ow!" Darien exclaimed, "Do you think you could be a little gentler.  You're pretty strong, you know."

"Oops, sorry," Mia said sheepishly.  The group, except for Serena, Ryo, and Celia, looked on in amazement.  Celia walked over to them and said, "I see you remember your past.  Congratulations.  And you both have your armor too.  It's about time."  Mia and Darien looked at Celia with surprised looks.

"You mean you knew the entire time that we were related and you didn't tell us?" Mia exclaimed.

"Yes, I knew, and I couldn't tell you.  I wasn't allowed to.  You had to figure out your past for yourselves.  I'm guessing the memories came back when you received your armor."

"Yeah, that's what happened," Darien said.

"Wait," Rowen said, "Darien and Mia are brother and sister?  And they have armor?"  
"Yes," Celia said, "It's family armor that is passed down through Darien and Mia's family.  But, this is the first time in a while that the wearers of the armor have been twin brother and sister."

"They're twins?" Cye asked.

"Yeah, we are," Darien said, "In this life and in our lives from the Silver Millennium.  And we have our full memories of that time, too.  Don't we, Mia?" Darien finished, smiling at his twin sister with a twinkle in his eyes.  He was teasing her again and Mia knew it.  He was teasing her about her past relationship with Ryo.  "Yes, we do."  

Most everyone looked on at the two in annoyance.  The only people who had their memories from the Silver Millennium were Alex, Michelle, Celia, Heather, Serena, Darien, and Mia, leaving everyone else in the dark about their time during the Silver Millennium.  Moving past his envy, Kento said, "Hey, can we see your armor, you guys?"  Darien and Mia looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess so," Mia said.  The two of them took in a deep breath and called out their transformation lines.  "I call upon the armor of Soul.  Armor of Soul, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Spirit.  Armor of Spirit, TO ARMS!"  Second later, Darien and Mia stood there in their armor and everyone gasped in awe.  The sight of the two standing there was pretty intimidating, seeing how as their armor colors were almost the exact opposite of the other.  Mia stood there in her pearl colored armor and Darien stood there in his black armor, each of them holding a sword.  "Wow, that is so cool," Kento said.

"Thanks," Mia and Darien said at the same time.  

"How did this happen?" Ami asked.  Darien only smiled and said, "Let's go into the living room and Mia and I will tell you the story."  Everyone moved back into the living room and Mia and Darien detransformed fully before following.

***  
Later that evening, after Darien and Mia had told their story, everyone filed out of the living room, separating to do their own separate thing.  After most everyone had left, the only two people left in the living room were Ryo and Mia, who were now suddenly very nervous around each other and sitting next to each other on one of the couches.  "So, this new armor of yours, it's pretty cool," Ryo said.

"Well, I think so," Mia said.

"It's also really neat that you and Darien are brother and sister."

"Yeah, it explains the connection I feel when I'm with Darien."  Ryo scratched the back of his head nervously and said, "For a while, I thought you were involved with Darien behind Serena's back."  Mia looked at Ryo with a shocked look on her face for a moment before breaking out into laughter.  She laughed loudly for several moments before she began to calm down.  "Ryo, that is the funniest thing I've ever heard," she said while wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.  "I'm not laughing at you, but I'm laughing at the idea.  I would never do that to Serena or Darien.  I mean, I love Darien and everything, but not like that."

"Well, I knew that you wouldn't betray Serena's trust like that, but for a while, I thought you were."

"Why would you think that?" Mia asked.  Ryo suddenly got extremely nervous.

"Well, after what happened in August, you started ignoring me and you started spending a lot of time with Darien and you seemed to be getting really close to him.  I just figured that there was something going on between you two," Ryo finished softly.  

Mia smiled at him and said, "Well, you were wrong.  There was nothing going on between Darien and me.  The reason why I was spending a lot of time around him was because I wanted to figure out what the connection between us was and now, I've figured it out."  Mia stopped talking and a tense silence hovered over the two.  Mia was the first to break it.  "Well, I'm tired from everything today.  Going out, finding out my past, and fighting those monsters.  I'm going to go to bed," Mia said as she got up and started to walk out of the room

"Ok, good night Mia.  You did a good job today," Ryo said.

"Thanks," Mia said as she disappeared out of the room.  "Good night, Ryo," she yelled back before she started to walk up the stairs.  Ryo smiled as he heard her walk up the stairs.  They were slowly getting their friendship back up to what it used to be and he was glad.  He missed all of their talks that had disappeared after he kissed her.  But, he was still confused.  

_She did kiss me back when we first kissed.  So, why did she run away?  Was she scared of getting into a relationship?  If she was, she could have just told me and I would have understood.  But, what if she doesn't want to be with me at all?  No, that's not it.  I know she loves me.  She just hasn't told me yet.  Well, I'm not going to tell her that I love her until I'm sure of how she feels about me.  Ryo yawned loudly before saying out loud, "I guess I'm tired from today's battle, too.  Guess I'll go to bed as well."  Ryo stood up and began to walk out of the living room, turning off the light on his way out.  _

Walking up the stairs, he smiled his first real smile in a while at the thought of Mia.  _Everything will work out for the best.  I know it._

**************

Hi All!  Another chapter!  Yay.  Actually, I shouldn't be updating right now, what with the enormous Geology test I have tomorrow.  Bad me!  But I took a break from studying just to update for you all.  So I hope you enjoyed this and that it was worth my break from studying! : )  I don't think I'll be updating for a while, but the more reviews (hint, hint) the more psyched about updating I am!  ~DestinyBabe


	10. Preparing for the End Begins

Part 9: Preparing for the End

-2 and a half months later, June 11th, 1999-

"Does anyone have any ideas about how to do this?" Serena asked the Mystical and Ronin Warriors as they sat there, brainstorming around the dining room table.

"We could always do it the same way we did it last time," Raye said, "We could go in there and if something happens, we get Ami to find another portal so we can get out."

"Uh-uh, the last time we did that, I got captured, remember?" Serena said.

"Well, do you have a better way to do it?" Lita asked.

"Yeah Serena, do you have any better ideas to get on how to get into the Negaverse?" Mina asked.

"Well, no," Serena said bashfully.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kento asked.  The Mystical Warriors remembered that they hadn't known the Ronin Warriors when they went into the Negaverse for the first time.  

Alex took in a deep breath before explaining.  "Well, about two years ago, we went into the Negaverse with the intentions of killing Beryl.  Serena actually ended up killing Queen Beryl, but she was captured beforehand."

"Yeah, and tortured.  I don't want to go through that again, you guys," Serena said.

"What exactly was the plan?" Rowen asked.

"The plan," Ami said, "Was to find a portal to go into the Negaverse and try to kill Beryl.  If anything happened, I would find a portal and get us out of there."

"And you've taught me how to find the portal," Rowen said.

"So we don't have to rely on Ami to get us out.  If something happens to one of you two, then the other one will be able to find a portal to get us out," Sage said.

"But, what if something happens to both of them?" Michelle asked.

"Well, we'll have to hope that doesn't happen," Ami said, "Because it's taken me three months to teach Rowen how to find a portal.  We don't have the time for me to teach someone else."

"Is this true?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," Rowen said, "And after of three months of training, I'm still not as good as Ami.  I can only find a portal about half of the time."

"You've actually seen these portals?" Cye asked, a little scared at the fact that one of his best friends was near a portal to an evil netherworld.  

"Yeah, but I've never gone in one of them," Rowen said.

"Well that will all change once we get a plan figured out!" Raye exclaimed.  Raye then turned to Serena, her eyes narrowed in impatience, and said, "Well, little Miss Esteemed Leader, do you have a plan for going into action?  You don't seem to like the original plan, so if you don't like it, you better have a good alternative."  Serena cringed at Raye's tone of voice and Sage, who was sitting next to Raye, put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Raye…" in a warning tone.  

Raye calmed down almost immediately and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm really edgy.  We've been fighting Metallia for almost a year and I just want her dead."

"It's alright," Sage said, "But when you get like this, you have to remember what we've talked about with you and your temper, ok?"

"Right, I'll try to not put those talks to waste," Raye said, giving Sage a small smile.

"That's my girl," Sage said.  Serena smiled at the two.  _ Those two are meant to be.  Why don't they see it?_   Serena sighed, but seconds later, felt a prickle at the base of her spine.  Her smile disappeared, her teeth gritted, and her hand formed a fist, which wound up slamming down on the table.  "What's wrong Serena?" Darien asked, looking at her from across the table.

"I hate to break up this little brainstorming session, but there's a hybrid attack.  We should go take care of it," Serena said.

"Where is it?" Ryo asked.

"It's downtown, somewhere near Tokyo Tower.  Come on, we have to go.  We have some enemy butt to beat."  The group of 16 warriors moved out of the dining room and walked through the front hall, exiting the house.  Once outside, the group transformed into their sub-armor.  "Power of the Moonlight!"

"Power of the Artic!"

"Power of the Firebird!"

"Power of Lightning!"

"Power of the Heavens!"

"Power of Time!"

"Power of the Earth!"

"Power of the Seas!"

"Power of the Gods!"

"Power of Soul!"

"Power of Spirit!"

"Armor of Wildfire!"

"Armor of Halo!"

"Armor of Hardrock!"

"Armor of Torrent!"

"Armor of Strata!"  With bright flashes of light, the group of 16 appeared in their sub-armor.  Breaking out into a run, with Serena in the lead, the Mystical and Ronin Warriors ran away from the house, hoping that they would get to the battle scene in time to stop any horrific damage.

***  
The Mystical and Ronin Warriors arrived at the scene, ready to do battle.  The army of hybrids was made of about 60 to 70 of them, all consolidated into a single moving mass.  Serena's face took on a grimace as she looked at them.  "I really hate fighting them, but it's in the best interest of the world that we wipe the floor with their asses," Serena said.

"I couldn't agree more," Celia said.  Raye moved to stand next to Serena and said, "Well, let's get armored up and destroy these guys, ok?"

"Yes, let's," Serena said.  "Ok guys, let's do this!" Serena yelled before saying, "I call upon the armor of the Moonlight.  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Artic.  Armor of the Artic, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Firebird.  Armor of the Firebird, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Lightning.  Armor of Lightning, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Heavens.  Armor of the Heavens, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Time.  Armor of Time, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Earth.  Armor of the Earth, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Seas.  Armor of the Seas, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of the Gods.  Armor of the Gods, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Soul.  Armor of Soul, TO ARMS!"

"I call upon the armor of Spirit.  Armor of Spirit, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Wildfire, DAO JIN!"

"Armor of Halo, DAO CHI!"

"Armor of Torrent, DAO SHIN!"

"Armor of Hardrock, DAO GI!"

"Armor of Strata, DAO INOCHI!"  The Mystical and Ronin Warriors stood there in their armor, ready to fight.  The hybrids spotted the armored warriors and, each of them letting out a battle cry as they spotted their enemy.  The warriors heard another cry behind them and they whirled their heads to see a large portal opening up behind them and more hybrids pouring out of it.  "Uh-oh," Ryo said as he spotted the second group of hybrids, far bigger than the first.

"I'd say we have our work cut out for us, huh?" Cye said.

"You said, not me," Ryo concluded.  The group of warriors spread out, now totally surrounded by the enemy.  As if their minds were working as one, the Mystical and Ronin Warriors attacked at one, charging the enemy using weapons and power, basically whatever was at their disposal.  As they fought, it seemed that the number of good guys decreased.  "MOONLIGHT VANQUISH!" Serena cried as she destroyed the last of the hybrids.  She was exhausted, her powers totally spent.  She had never fought so many hybrids and the only time she had fought so many enemies was when she and the other Mystical Warriors entered the Negaverse and Serena had used the Cosmos Armor.  

She looked around the group to congratulate all of them, she noticed that there was a significant difference in the number of warriors before the fight and after the fight.  "Alright, who's missing?" Serena asked.  Serena did a mental head count and her eyes went wide.  "You guys," she asked the group, "Where's Ami, Raye, Mina, Lita, and Mia?"  The rest of the group looked around to find them, but they didn't see them anywhere.  Serena began calling out names.  "Raye!  Where are you?  You guys, answer me!"  The group, in the middle of looking for their missing comrades, heard a laugh behind them.  Ryo froze, his body going completely stiff, as he heard that laugh.  "Wait a minute, I know that laugh.  Why does it sound so familiar?"

"Maybe because you've heard it before, Ryo of Wildfire."  The group all turned to see a man with jet black hair floating about 15 feet in the air in front of them.  "Who are you?" Heather asked, needing to know who this evil man was.  "I think the Ronin Warriors know who I am."

"We have no clue who you are, now answer her question," Rowen said.  The man smiled slightly, yet the smile was definitely malicious and sneering.  "Well, then I'll tell you if you can't guess.  I am Talpa."  The guys nearly fainted.  Talpa had a human form?

"You can't be Talpa.  Talpa is dead," Kento said.

"Oh, but it is me.  You may have killed my body, but you didn't kill my spirit.  Queen Metallia found my spirit and brought me back to life as her general, a position I served in the Silver Millennium."  

Alex only sighed in disgust and impatience.  "Why are you here?  Shouldn't you be off with Metallia, cooking up evil plans to kill us?  Because, if you're not, I'd like to kill you here and now and get it over with."

"Oh, I'm here for a purpose.  I'm here to negotiate a deal."

"A deal?  What kind of a deal?" Mia said.  Talpa only laughed slightly.

"Well, I have something you want and you have something that I want."

"What are you talking about?" Darien demanded.  With a slight wave of his hand, Talpa opened up a window into the Negaverse and the Warriors went aghast at what they saw.  

In the window, they saw the figures of Raye, Ami, Mina, Lita, and Mia, all of them chained up and being tortured with a searing stream of black lighting.  "No, stop it.  You're going to kill them!  What do you want?" Sage asked, ready to do anything to stop Raye's suffering as well as the others.

"All I want," Talpa said with an evil grin, "Is the Silver Crystal.  And I want all of you to come to the Negaverse to deliver it to my Queen and me personally."  
"You will never get the Silver Crystal," Serena cried, "And you will not win.  I can guarantee that."

"Well then, if you will not give us the Silver Crystal, we will not give you your friends back.  It's been nice doing business with you," Talpa said before he disappeared right in front of their eyes, returning to the Negaverse.

"They will not get the Silver Crystal.  The only way they will be able to take it from me is over my dead body," Serena muttered.

"Well, then how are we going to get them back?" Kento said, "We might as well give them the Silver Crystal so we can get the others back."  Serena went absolutely livid.  She walked over to Kento and hit him.  "Would you care repeating that again?" Serena said as Kento struggled to get his balance after Serena hit him, "Have you learned nothing about the Mystical Warriors and our past in the 11 months that you've been living with us?  The Silver Crystal is the most powerful thing in the Universe.  So powerful that it has the strength to destroy it.  

"If we hand the Silver Crystal over to Queen Metallia, we'll be handing over the lives of everyone and everything in the universe.  If given the absolute choice, I'd rather let them have the girls then give them Silver Crystal and I know that that's what they would want too."

"But, they're getting hurt," Cye pointed out, the image of Mina being hurt flashing through his mind.

"I know," Serena whispered, her temper having calmed down a lot in a few seconds.  "And we are going to get them out."

"Well then, what are we waiting for, let's go," Ryo said.

"No, we can't," Celia said, interrupting whatever Serena was going to say.

"Hey, that's what I was going to say," Serena muttered before saying, "I agree with Celia.  We can't go in.  We don't have a plan and our energy is low.  If we go now without being rested, we're sure to get at least hurt, if not captured and killed."

"But, we have to get them out before they die," Rowen said.

"I know, and we will.  But we need to get our energy back up first.  We'll go tomorrow after we've rested.  That's the best we can do," Serena finished before detransforming into her sub-armor.  "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going home to sleep."

"Yeah, I could use some sleep too," Darien said, detransforming as well and moving to walk beside his girlfriend.  The other Mystical Warriors followed, leaving the Ronin Warriors at the scene of the battle.  The Ronin Warriors stood there, thinking about what had happened and the possibilities of never seeing the girls again without telling them how they felt.  

Each of them deep in their own thoughts, they slowly began to move away from the battle scene, their hearts full of dread and regret.

*******

Hi again.  I just wanted to write a couple little notes, nothing big.

To CTRNikkiM – yes, you have read this before.  Before we moved to fanfiction.net, FateChica had these books on her website.  But Gurlpages.com went haywire and erased it.  We had always meant to keep updating onto other sites, but it took me nudging Chica to get these up here, and as you may tell, I'm mostly updating these myself.  I know you probably read at least through Book 3 if you kept up with the website.  Don't worry, at the rate I'm updating, you'll be reading book four really soon!  And thanks so much for putting us on your favorite authors' list

And to thescientist, thank you for the compliment on the writing.  Right now, this is only FateChica's writing, so I'll pass the compliment on to her.  She'll be thrilled!  As for Raye and Sage couplings, who knows what we devious masterminds have in for all the potential couples . . . Just you wait and see!  Anyway, I'm glad someone else noticed the similarities between the two shows.  I will admit, it was Chica's ideas that gave birth to these two books!  (I claim part of the mastermind for the plot of book 3, soon to be coming!)

I am floating on a cloud.  Three new reviews!  I feel so loved! : )  Thank you all!  ~DestinyBabe (and FateChica)


	11. Trapped Behind Enemy Lines

-Same Day, June 11th, 1999-

It had been a long 4 hours.  Only 4 hours previous, 5 of the Mystical Warriors had been taken by Queen Metallia, held in the clutches of an evil madwoman, being tortured.  And for the 5 men in love with them, being separated from them was torture enough.  As they lay in bed, trying to rest but failing miserably, their thoughts wandered towards the women they loved and what could happen if they didn't return to them safe and sound.

*Cye's Point of View*

I can't believe that she's gone.  Well, not permanently gone, but it's almost the same thing.  I don't know if she's even going to come back.  I hope she comes back.  There's so much I have to tell Mina, so much I left unsaid.  If I didn't get to tell her how I really felt about her, it would tear me apart from regret.  I've had so many opportunities in the last 11 months to tell her that I love her, and I mean really love her, and I haven't used them when I should have.  There's so much that I haven't gotten to do with her, kissing her included.  

Oh God, if there is one thing I want in this world, it's to have Mina back safe and sound.  As I lay in bed, thinking about my lost love, a feeling of panic washes over me.  What if she's dead by the time we go to get them out?  What if it's too late?  Well, that cinches it.  I'm going to find her.  I get out of my bed, now determined that I can do something to help her.  I don't know how I'm going to get to her, but I will find her and get her out.  If not, then I'll die trying.

*Sage's Point of View*

I wish Raye would come back and tell me that she's alright.  I can't stand knowing that I'm here, safe, and she's somewhere in the Negaverse being tortured by God knows who.  That thought entering my head, I push myself off of my bed and begin pacing the room nervously, doubts and thoughts of living without Raye running through my head.  I don't think I could live without her if I had to.  In the 11 months that I've known her, she has changed me so much.  I love her, so much in fact that I'm scared to tell her because I'm afraid of being blown off.  I'd rather spend my life knowing that she was my friend then have her stay away from me because of my feelings for her.  

As I pace, I try to reassure my self that Raye will be ok and she'll come back to me, unharmed, but, almost unbidden, the image of her getting tortured flashes through my head, only increasing my anxiety.  There has to be something I can do.  Maybe I could go after her and rescue her.  Yeah, that's it, I'll go rescue her.  Maybe I can convince Rowen to find a portal that leads into the Negaverse so I can go find her.  It shouldn't take much convincing on my part.  He probably wants to go find Ami and rescue her too.  For the first time in hours, I actually feel hope reappearing.

*Rowen's Point of View*

She has to come back, Ami just has to come back.  If she doesn't, I'll kill myself, I really will.  I can't imagine living without her and I don't picture myself trying to either.  I know Serena said that we should wait to go in and find them tomorrow, but I have a way of getting into the Negaverse without Serena and I feel like I could take on the entire Negaverse myself.  They will pay for what they've done to Ami and the others.  I can't believe Talpa is back… He'll pay most of all.  He was supposed to stay dead, not come back to life and make our lives hell again.  

But, I can't go in there alone.  I have to bring at least one person in there with me as back up and I can think of 4 willing and able people who will go with me.  It shouldn't be that hard to get them to go.  Odds are, they want to get the girls back just as much as I do.  Yeah, that's it.  I'll get the guys to go with me and before I know it, Ami will be back here where I can keep an eye on her and protect her at all costs.  Hell, maybe I'll even tell her that I love her.

*Kento's Point of View*

That creep Talpa is going down for this.  How dare he take away the most important thing in my life?  In 11 months, Lita has become the most important thing to me and I don't intend on letting the Negaverse keep her.  If I have to, I'll go in there by myself to get her out.  Why didn't Serena let us go after them then?  The longer we leave them in there, the more they'll get hurt.  And if I find out that Lita's died, heads are going to roll.  I love her so much that it hurts sometime and if I have to live with her death, others are going to suffer with me.  

Why can't I go in there by myself?  If only I could get into the Negaverse, then I would go by myself.  Hey, didn't Rowen say that he could find ways to get into the Negaverse?  Oh yeah, that's it.  I'll take Rowen with me and he'll find me a way in and we'll get the girls out of there.  Maybe I'll take the other guys with me so we can all get the girls back.  Then I'll have the girl I love back with me and knowing that she's alright will be enough for me.  I just hope I can get to her before it's too late.

*Ryo's Point of View*

Why didn't I tell Mia that I loved her a long time ago?  If she doesn't come back to me alive, I will personally kill everyone responsible for her death.  In three years, she has become the most important thing to me.  She was there for me through everything that I went through with Talpa and beyond.  She never gave up on me and she was there to rescue me even when the guys and I told her to stay where it was safe.  I'm not going back down now.  I have to give her at least that in return.  Which means that I have to go into the Negaverse to get her back, even if the odds are on the impossible side.  I am going to go in and find her.  I almost can't believe that I'm going to do this, but hey, so sue me.  I'm in love and people in love do almost anything for the person that they love and I'd do anything for Mia.  I do it because I know that she'd do the same for me.  

Now, my only problem is getting in there.  The only way I know how to get in there is if Rowen can find a portal to get me in there.  Now there's an idea.  And if I ask Rowen to come along with me, then I can bring him along and he can be Ami's knight in shining armor, which is rather fitting seeing how as he wears armor.  Yeah, I'll round the other guys up and we can save the girls together, just like the old days with the Evil Dynasty, our powers united.  Well, one thing's for sure: it's going to be a hell of a ride.  I just hope Mia can hang on long enough for me to save her.

***  
All 5 of the Ronin Warriors walked out of their bedrooms and discovered their 4 comrades.  "What are you guys doing?" Cye asked, not preparing to see all of them.

"Well, I'm going to get the girls back.  I was going to go to all of you and ask you if you wanted to come with me, but now that you're all here, I can figure what you're going to do," Rowen said.  He looked around at the faces of his friends and said, "You guys all want to go after them too, huh?  You don't like the idea of them being tortured over there.  Well, neither do I.  I'm going to get them back.  Who's with me?"

"I'm in," Kento said.

"Yeah, I'm going too," Ryo said.

"Anything to rescue them," Sage said.

"I'm in too," Cye said.  Rowen nodded.

"Right," Rowen said, "Let's go."  Rowen started to walk down the hallway, the others rushing to catch up to him.

"Rowen, we don't even have a plan," Cye said.

"Yes we do," Rowen said, "I find a portal, we sneak into the Negaverse, we find the girls and we hightail it out of there.  Easy."

"Yeah, easier said than done, Rowen," Sage said, "There are many monsters and other such things in the Negaverse.  If we get attacked, we'll be way outnumbered."

"Don't you think I've taken that into consideration already?  I have.  We don't announce ourselves when we get there.  If we don't announce ourselves, then we can keep a look out for guards or whatnot that would give us away.  We're going to be sneaking around the Negaverse, not picking fights."

"Ok, fine, but what happens if we get spotted?" Ryo asked.

"And let's hope that doesn't happen," Cye contributed.

"Well, we'll have to fight and pray for the best," Rowen said.  The guys walked down the stairs and snuck out of the house through the kitchen.  Walking outside and a bit away from the house, they transformed in the middle of the woods.  "Armor of Wildfire, DAO JIN!"

"Armor of Halo, DAO CHI!"

"Armor of Torrent, DAO SHIN!"

"Armor of Hardrock, DAO GI!"

"Armor of Strata, DAO INOCHI!"  With bright flashes of light, the Ronin Warriors appeared, ready to fight and save the girls they loved.  "Now, I just have to find a portal and hope that it opens soon," Rowen said.  Rowen closed his eyes, putting his bow behind his back, and focused his power, reaching out with it at the same time.  

Using his power, he scanned for a portal with no particular boundaries in mind.  He had never done an extensive search before and now he was searching a humungous area.  As he searched, he prayed.  I hope this works.  I'm only right about half of the time.  Please let it be one of those times. Rowen thought.  Finally, after many minutes of searching, his power finally found an area where a portal would open up.  "I found one!" he exclaimed.

"Where is it?" Cye asked.

"It's a few miles north of here.  And it opens up in about 40 minutes or so.  We'd better get moving," Rowen said.

"Right, let's go.  Rowen, you lead the way," Ryo said, giving up his leadership briefly so Rowen could get them to where the portal was going to appear.  With one acknowledging look at Ryo, Rowen took off in a run through the forest and the other Ronin Warriors followed.  

They ran for about 20 minutes, Rowen, several times, having to stop to make sure that they were going the right way, and were breathless by the time they reached the spot where the portal was going to open up.  They waited a few minutes for the portal to open up and when nothing happened, the Ronin Warriors began to get nervous.  "Um, Rowen, are you sure that this is where the portal is going to open up?" Kento asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Rowen said.

"Well, are you positive?  You were the one who said that you're only right with these things about half of the time," Cye said.

"Look, I'm sure on this one.  I know that this is where it is.  Just give it a few moments."  Sage opened his mouth a few minutes later to disagree with Rowen when a slight breeze blew past them, kicking up the leaves on the ground slightly.  Rowen smiled at the first sign of an impending portal.  "Here it comes," he muttered.  Slowly, a swirling black hole appeared in front of them, gradually growing bigger until it was about 7 feet in diameter.  Rowen just continued on smiling as the other guys looked on amazed.  "Well, I guess you were right," Kento said, "Sorry I doubted you."

"It's ok.  We don't have much time to stand here and talk, though.  These portals don't like to stay open for too long.  Come on, guys.  Let's get them back."  Rowen, feeling fairly courageous, walked through the portal and disappeared.  Hesitantly, the others followed, not trusting the black hole as much as Rowen did.  

But, eventually, they all made it to the other side and found themselves in the middle of the Negaverse.  "Dismal looking place, huh?" Sage said, surveying the darkened territory.

"Definitely not high on my list of vacation spots, that's for sure," Ryo blanched.  Taking a deep breath, Cye said, "Well, enough sight-seeing, we have to go rescue the girls."

"Yeah, but where are they?" Kento said, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"How about the big castle over there," Ryo said.

"That's probably where they are," Rowen said.

"Yes, you're right.  Let's go get them," Sage said.  Those being the last words, the guys marched off, their heads high, all of them silently praying that they would get through the experience alive.

***  
Inside the castle, Queen Metallia was smiling.  "I knew they'd come to me eventually," she whispered to herself.  She was looking through many of the viewing portals that were in her throne room.  Nothing moved in the Negaverse without her knowing about it.  And she knew that the Ronin Warriors had come to rescue their fellow warriors.  

Smiling at the idea that her generals had managed to capture some of the Mystical Warriors, she looked at a group of 5 viewing portals, which were all shoved together.  In one, she saw Raye's face contort into a look of pain as she was slapped in the face rather harshly by Heliodore, who had been assigned the task of torturing Raye.  All of the generals had been assigned a Warrior to torture.  Heliodore, of course, was with Raye; Almandine was now blasting Ami with her power; Cairngorm was in the middle of hitting Lita; Labradorite was using her knowledge of pressure points to exert the most amount of pain from Mina; and Talpa was gingerly feeding Mia all of his power, overloading her body with it, which delivered to her intense pain.  Metallia looked on approvingly.  Finally, things were falling into place.  Before she knew it, she would be running everything on earth.  She just needed to do one more thing.  

Turning back to the viewing portal where she could see the Ronin Warriors moving throughout the Negaverse, she gathered up her power and struck them with it.  Laughing maliciously, she watched as the Ronin Warriors fell to the ground from the power of her blow, passing out.  Letting out one more laugh, she used a little more of her power to transport the 5 warriors to her castle, sending them to different parts of her castle.  Now, things were going to get interesting.


	12. Fight For True Love

-Next Day, June 12th, 1999-

"Are my prisoners ready to receive the treatment?" Queen Metallia asked one of her servants.  The female servant bowed and said, "Yes my Queen, they are ready.  They've been put in separate rooms upon your request."  An evil grin spread over Metallia's face at the thought of the Ronin Warriors, who were imprisoned.  Now her plan was going to go into action.  

She figured that the best way to beat the Ronin Warriors was to lure them over to her side by playing on their greatest weakness: the Mystical Warriors.

"Good," Metallia murmured, "I will begin my plan now.  I'm not to be disturbed, is that understood?"

"Yes my Queen."  The servant gave one more formal bow before leaving Queen Metallia in her throne room.  Queen Metallia closed her large, blue eyes and concentrated her power, sending a bit of herself to each place where a Ronin Warrior was.

***  
Cye awoke with a splitting headache.  Opening his eyes, he groaned in pain as his sensitive eyes picked up the light in the room.  He immediately closed his eyes, trying to block out the light, but that didn't make his head feel any better.  He was pushing himself off of the ground and was about to attempt standing when he heard a low, sultry laugh.  He opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh light, and looked around his surroundings.  

He was in a huge chamber, which had a long hallway extending from behind it.  Blocking that hallway was a woman.  She was absolutely gorgeous with her long, wavy blonde hair and curvaceous body.  And she was completely see-through.  Cye blinked a couple of times to check that he was seeing right, but he soon convinced himself that his eyesight had not failed him and that the woman in front of him was not real, but a hologram.  "Who are you?" Cye asked, testing the waters.  He didn't know if she was evil or if she was on his side.

"You mean you haven't guessed, Cye of Torrent?" she asked.

"No, I honestly have no clue as to who you are."

"Well, since you're so unable to figure out who I am, I will tell you.  I am Queen Metallia."

"Metallia," he growled, recognizing the name of their enemy, "I should have known it was you.  Where is Mina and what have you done to her?" 

"Mina?  Oh, you mean the wearer of the Heavens armor.  She's just fine," Queen Metallia lied.

"Where is she?" Cye asked again.

"I don't know why you want to know.  You don't have a chance with her."  Queen Metallia crossed her arms across her chest and let out a small smile at Cye's shocked look, which was quickly covered up by a scowl.  "What do you know?"

"Oh, I know plenty.  Why would she want someone like you?  You aren't much of a warrior.  You're too nice and too friendly.  Mina wants someone strong, someone to show her the passions of life.  You're too sweet to show her those things.  You can't be strong.  You're just a weak warrior.  You're the weakest warrior out of your group.  Mina doesn't want a weakling like you.  So, why don't you spare yourself the pain and give her up?  You could always come join me.  I could make you strong, stronger than you can ever imagine.  Then you could go after Mina.  You would be everything she wants."  

Tears sprang to Cye's eyes as he heard Queen Metallia's words.  Maybe she was right.  Maybe Mina would never want someone like him.  She deserved someone who was stronger than him and who could show her how to live, someone who wasn't him.   _Maybe I would be better off leaving Mina until I could be the man that she wants._  

Cye was about to accept Metallia's offer to stay with her when a flurry of images sprang to mind.  Images of Mina smiling at him, laughing at things that he'd said, watching her face contort into a look of concentration as she did her homework, images of them having fun together, relaxing together and Cye then realized that no matter what Mina thought of him, Cye could never abandon her.  His resolve to save Mina became stronger as he faced Metallia with a stony look on his face.  

"No, that's not true.  No matter what you say and no matter what Mina thinks about me, I'll always love her.  I couldn't leave her in your clutches.  I'd rather love her from afar then give her up completely and let her get hurt.  I love her too much to let her get hurt.  Now, out of my way."  Picking up his fallen weapon, Cye used his power to destroy the hologram.  "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" he cried out.  He watched triumphantly as his power destroyed the hologram and the hologram faded, leaving Cye alone in the huge chamber.  

Seeing that as his chance to find Mina, he ran down the long corridor, looking for a way out of there.  He was searching down the long corridor, not finding a way out until he got to the end of the corridor.  When he reached the end of the corridor, he found a large door with no handle.  Finding no other way to get out, he pushed the heavy door open and looked into the room on the other side.  He gasped at what he saw.  

Looking directly in front of him, he could easily recognize Mina's limp, armored form.  "Mina!" he cried out as he rushed over to her, kneeling beside her unconscious body.  He moved her body until she was lying on her back and Cye propped her up so he could see her face.  Gently shaking her, he called her name over and over in an attempt to wake her up.  

When she didn't wake up, tears welled up in his eyes.  His gaze roaming over her bruised and scarred face, he muttered, "I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you in time, Mina."  Raising a gloved hand, he gently caressed her face and was shocked when her closed eyes twitched.  "Mina?" he whispered, hoping that she was alive and awake.  Slowly, but surly, her bright blue eyes opened to see Cye looking down at her, his hand still cupping her cheek.  "Cye?" she croaked, her throat incredibly dry and scratchy from screaming in pain earlier.

"Yeah, it's me.  How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," Mina said, "Everything hurts, Cye.  Everything hurts so bad."  She looked up into his eyes, which were shining with tears, and said in a pleading tone of voice, "Can you get me out of here?  I just want to go home."  Cye could hear the tears in her voice and there was nothing he wanted more than to get her out of there.  "Alright, we'll go home."  Scooping her into his arms, he stood up, holding her close to him, not wanting to let her go for fear that something might happen to her.  His eyes looked around the room, searching for a way out.  He saw two doors, the one he came through and one that he just discovered.  Not wanting to go back the way he came, he moved towards the other door, Mina still in his arms.  As he pushed the door open, he said to her, "Just relax Mina, we're going home."

***  
Rowen moaned lightly as he woke up.  He knew that later, the pain would kick in once he was fully awake.  His hand closing around his bow, he slowly pushed his way up off the hard ground he was laying on so that he was standing on his own two feet, albeit shakily, and he looked around the room, which looked much like the one Cye of Torrent was in.  "I hope you're alright, Rowen of Strata," a female voice said.  

Rowen, who still didn't know where he was and how he had gotten there, looked towards the source of the voice and found a holographic image of a beautiful woman.  _ But not as beautiful as Ami,_ Rowen thought.  "Who are you and where am I?" Rowen asked.  Giggling slightly, she said, "I'm surprised a genius like you hasn't figured that out yet."  Rowen scrutinized her for a moment, taking in her appearance and the look in her eyes, before it dawned on him.  "You're Queen Metallia, aren't you?  And I'm in the Negaverse."

"Correct.  So, you are a smart one.  I was worried there for a moment."

"You don't know the first about me."

"Oh, I know plenty about you.  Including your feelings for, what's her name?  Oh yes, Ami, the girl who wears the Artic armor.  I'd give up if I were you," Queen Metallia drawled.

"Why?" Rowen said.

"Because, why would she want someone like you?  Why would she want someone with a family background like yours?  She wants a person with a normal past and yours is anything but.  Did you think you actually had a chance with someone like her?  She's way above you.  You don't deserve her and she deserves better than you.  She could never love you for who you are."

"That's not true," Rowen growled, "You lie."

"How do you know that's not true?  She could just be being nice to you because she feels sorry for you and what you've gone through.  That doesn't mean that she loves you back.  You might as well stop loving her because you have no chance with her."  Queen Metallia paused at the shocked look on Rowen's face and said softly, "How could she love somebody like you?"  Rowen froze.  She had a point.  How could Ami love someone like him?  He sighed in defeat, his body slumping, before a thought flashed through his head.  

_No, she's lying to me.  I have more of a chance with Ami than she thinks.  And, even if I don't, I'd rather love her from afar and be her friend then to give up on her completely.  "I see what you're trying to do," Rowen said, "You're trying to lure me over to the other side.  Well, I have news for you, lady.  It's not going to work."  Pulling a golden arrow out of his quiver, he shouted his attack.  "ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"  Pouring all of his power that he had, he watched as the arrow hit the hologram and the hologram disappeared.  _

"Well, now that she's gone, let's see about finding Ami."  In a manner that resembled Cye, Rowen rushed off down the long hallway that had been behind Queen Metallia's hologram, hoping that it would be the way to finding Ami.  He moved down the hallway in a light yet almost urgent jog as he looked for ways to get out of the hallway.  

He finally came upon a large, metal door, the only door that Rowen had seen in that hallway.  He took a few steps back and examined the door, finding no handle whatsoever.  Deciding that it was the only way to do it, Rowen leaned against the door and pushed it open using all of his weight and a little bit of his power as a Ronin Warrior.  He entered the large chamber that was on the other side of the door and he looked around, looking for any clues about where Ami went.  

Surprisingly enough, he found Ami's body on the ground in front of him.  She was still fully armored, but she was unconscious.  Rowen collapsed his bow and put it in its place by his quiver before moving over to Ami.  She was on her stomach, so he turned her over to get a look at her.  Her face was full of scratches and tear marks from where she had obviously been crying.  He didn't know what other wounds she had and he wouldn't be able to know until he got her home.  But, for now, he wanted to make sure that she could wake up.  Gently shaking her, he murmured her name.  "Come on, Ami, wake up.  I know you can do it."  Ami moaned and slowly opened her eyes to see Rowen's face not 2 inches from hers.  "Is that you, Rowen?" she whispered.

"Yeah, it's me.  Are you ok?"

"I'll live," Ami said ruefully.  Actually, at that moment, Ami doubted she could.

"Well, you better for me," Rowen said.  Ami closed her eyes to ward off the tears that were threatening to come.  The sound of his voice was heavenly to her at that moment.  Opening her eyes again, she looked up at him and said, "Rowen, can you get me out of here?  All I want is to go home."

"Sure, I'll get you out of here."

"Did you have a hard time finding me?" Ami asked.

"No, not at all," Rowen lied.  He knew that if he told her the truth, then she would freak out and think of him before her and right now, she needed more attention than he did.  He would tell her later.  As he knelt beside her, he put his arms underneath her body and picked her up.  Holding her close, he said, "Just hold on Ami.  I'll have you home before you know it."

"Knowing you, you'll make that happen," Ami said with a slight smile on her face.  Rowen only smiled down at her before going through the only other door that he had seen when he first walked into the room.  

***  
Sage winced.  He had just woken up from being knocked out and he hurt all over.  It wasn't intense, but it was like a low, throbbing pain all over that made him feel miserable.  All Sage wanted to do was go back to sleep, but something in his mind was screaming at him to stay awake.  He could feel the danger surrounding him and he knew that if he happened to go back to sleep, that he might not wake up again.  

He was just about to get up when a throaty, female laughter reached his ears.  His eyes snapped open and he looked up from his position on the ground to see the source of the laughter.  What he saw, he couldn't quite believe.  What he was seeing he knew to be a hologram for he could see right through her as if she was a spirit.  Or maybe that's what she was.  He couldn't be sure.  One thing he did know for sure was that she was absolutely beautiful, except for the cold look in her eyes, a look that he didn't trust at all.  

She looked down at him and said, "Oh, get off the floor, Sage of Halo.  I don't like the people who are supposed to be fighting to be lying down on the job.  It looks rather pathetic."  Sage quickly got off the floor and assumed a standing position as he glared at the figure in front of him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Do you really need to ask that question?  You're a smart boy.  You can answer that question for yourself."  Sage thought about it for a moment when where he was dawned on him.  "Well, since I'm in the Negaverse, I'd say that you're Queen Metallia."

"Very good," she purred, her lips curling into a smirk.  Sage returned that smirk with a scowl.  "Cut the histrionics, Metallia.  Since you know who I am, then you must know why I'm here."

"Yes, I do.  To rescue that girl, that Raye girl.  I assure you that she's still alive."

"Where is she?" Sage demanded.  He needed to find her and fast; he needed to see her alive with his own eyes.

"Do you think me a fool, boy?  Do you really think that I'd tell you where she is?  The only thing I'm telling you is that if you want to get to her, you're going to have to get through me to do it."

"Well, then, let's…"

"Not so fast," Metallia said, interrupting Sage, "Are you so sure you want to rescue her?  I mean, with baggage like hers, I sure wouldn't."

"What are you talking about?" Sage asked.  Queen Metallia smiled at him before asking, "Have you ever heard of a person named Chad?"  Sage felt his heart fall into his stomach.  He had heard of Chad, the guy who used to work at Raye's temple until he was killed by a monster.  Even though he had never had the chance to meet him, he still didn't like him.  He could tell that Raye had been in love with him once and he was jealous of the guy who captured Raye's heart before he even had a chance to.  Sage was scared that Raye was still in love with Chad.  

Sage gulped before answering.  "Yes, I know who you're talking about.  Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just wanted to know if you had heard about him.  I just wanted to warn you.  I mean, it's obvious that she's still in love with him because if she weren't, then she would be with you, now wouldn't she?  I can't imagine her not wanting to be with someone like you.  If she's not with you, then she must still be in love with him.  Do I have a point?"

"Yes, I suppose you do."  Sage just wanted to crawl into a small hole and die.

"Then, why do you want to rescue her if you know that she's in love with somebody else?  I sure wouldn't.  If I were in your situation, I couldn't stand knowing that the person I love was in love with someone else.  You would just be better off letting her go.  There's no reason for you to rescue her.  Instead, you could stay here and work by my side.  Without Raye, what do you have left?"  

Sage could feel his heart skip a beat at her question.  What did he have left without Raye?  To him, Raye was everything.  She had entered his life and practically took over.  But, without Raye, he still had his friends.  "I still have my fellow Ronin Warriors," Sage yelled.

"No you don't.  They're working for me now.  If you want to be with them, you're going to have to join me," Metallia snapped.  Sage refused to believe that, or anything that Metallia had said.  Then he realized that everything she had said was a lie.  "You lie," Sage accused, "My friends would never join with you ever.  You're just trying to get me to work for you.  Well, it's not going to work.  I'm going to rescue Raye no matter what.  I love her and if I don't rescue her, then you'll only hurt her!"  His rage at its zenith, he pulled out his sword and let his power flow into it.  

Using his power, he called out, "THUNDERBOLT CUT!" and charged for Metallia's hologram, slicing through it with his attack.  Once the light from his attack faded, he no longer saw Metallia there and breathed a sigh of relief.  Now, he just had to find Raye.  He didn't know where to go since everything was clouded in darkness, so he knelt down on the ground and centered his mind, reaching out with his power to find Raye.  While he sat there, time had no meaning.  It could have been seconds or days, Sage didn't know.  All he knew was that he had to find her.  

When his power finally found Raye, his eyes snapped open and a smile crossed his face.  He knew exactly where she was and she was still alive.  He ran into the darkness, knowing that there was a way to Raye through the darkness.  Since he couldn't see where he was going, he figured he was running down a large hallway.  Eventually, the darkness started going away and he could make out the walls of a narrow hallway.  He came to the end of the hallway and found himself looking at a tall doorway that was as wide as the hallway.  He knew he had to go through the door because he knew that Raye was on the other side.  As he went down the hallway, he could feel Raye's presence getting stronger and stronger until he could practically feel her next to him.  

He pushed the door with all of his might until it the huge metal door opened enough for him to get through.  He got through the opening that he had made and found himself in a room about as big as the one he woke up in.  Once in the room, he could hear the sounds of sobbing.  His eyes scanned the room, looking for the source of the sobbing and then his gaze settled on Raye.  If he had been thinking with his right mind, the sight of an armored warrior, curled up against the wall, crying, would appear weird, but, instead, he was filled with worry.  

Rushing over to her, he knelt besides her and put both hands on his shoulders, shaking her gently.  "Raye, are you ok?  Answer me!"  Raye, not recognizing the voice as Sage, pushed him away, hard, and he landed on the ground hard.  "Ow!" Sage exclaimed as he landed on the ground and only then did Raye recognize his voice.  "Sage?" she said weakly.

"Yeah, it's me," Sage said, moving back over to Raye.  She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes, before detransforming into her sub-armor and throwing her arms around him.  He hugged her back to the best of his ability in his armor as she cried.  "It's going to be ok, Raye," he said comfortingly.

"Just get me out of here, Sage.  Just get me out of here," she whispered.  Sage pulled away and looked at Raye's face.  On her right cheek was a huge red mark with four scratches running through it, like someone with sharp nails had slapped her.  "What happened here?" Sage asked, cradling that cheek.

"The person who was torturing me slapped me when I passed out.  She said that I wasn't allowed to pass out while she was torturing me."

"Oh Raye, I'm so sorry," Sage whispered as he tucked a strand of hair behind her hair.

"It's not you're fault," Raye said with a tender smile, "Just get me out of here, please?"

"Ok, I'll get you out of here."

"Thanks," Raye said meekly as she started swaying slightly.  Before Sage knew it, Raye had passed out, obviously from both pain and exhaustion.  Making sure she was still breathing before he did anything, he picked her up and looked around the room for a way out.  His eyes spotted a closed door on the opposite side of the room where the door he came through was.  

Confident that it was the only way out of the room that he was in, he walked over to the door and, leaning against it, pushed with his body until the door creaked open.  Hold on Raye, we're going home, Sage thought as he walked through the now open doorway.

***  
Kento groaned in pain as he awoke to find himself lying facedown on the floor.  He knew he had been knocked out, he could feel the pain from it; he just didn't know how he was knocked out.  He stood up and looked around the room that he was in.  The room was a circular shape with no obvious way in or out except for a long hallway that was across from him.  "Where am I?" Kento asked out loud.  When no one answered, he began to walk towards the hallway when something started to appear in front of him.  He froze and waited to see what it was.  

The figure shimmered and faded slightly before appearing fully and coming into focus.  Kento couldn't believe his eyes.  He was seeing the hologram of one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.  _Well, she's not as beautiful as Lita is, that's for sure, Kento thought as he looked over the woman's long blonde hair and perfect figure.  _Blondes aren't my type,_ Kento thought as he asked, "Who are you?"_

"Do you really need me to tell you or are you that dumb?" she asked with a honeyed voice that sounded sweet, but underneath the sweetness, Kento could tell that her words meant to hurt.  

Kento gave her a grin.

"Well, sometimes I'm a little slow and I need a little help.  Why don't you just tell me and we can stop playing games?"

"Since you don't want to guess, I'll just tell you then."  She paused and flipped her hair over her shoulder slightly before saying, "I'm Queen Metallia."  In a flash, Kento had his weapon ready to attack and defend himself if necessary.  "Queen Metallia," Kento growled, "I should have known.  Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but I gotta go save my friend."

"And how do you expect to find your 'friend'?  Did you honestly think that you could just waltz in here and find your 'friend' just like that?" Queen Metallia said with a snap of her fingers.  "No wonder she doesn't want you."

"What do you mean?" Kento asked, ready to attack.  

"That girl you like, your friend, Lita…is that her name?  Yeah, that's it."

"Why wouldn't she want me?" Kento asked in a shaky voice.

"For the obvious reasons," Metallia scoffed, "Look, I don't know how to put this delicately, but you're not the smartest and most mature person out there."

"Yeah, I know that, but what's that supposed to mean?"  
"Well, do you think that Lita's going to want someone like you?  She could do so much better.  Like someone with much more maturity than you with more intelligence to boot.  You're nothing compared to how she could do.  You don't have a chance.  If you were to be with her, you'd only be holding her down and I don't think you want to do that to her.  I think you love her too much to do that to her.  Besides, she could never love someone like you."  

Kento didn't believe her.  Instead he got pissed off.  Anger boiling up inside of him, he cried out, "I don't believe you, you liar!"  Readying his weapon, he called out, "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" taking his anger and frustration out on the hologram.  When his power faded and he was by himself in the large chamber, he finally calmed down, though silent tears were running down his face.  

He was afraid that Metallia was telling the truth, that he had no chance with Lita at all.  He shook his head as if to disregard it.  "No, she's lying.  That would never happen."  Besides, I have to go find Lita and get her out of here.  There's no telling what could have happened to her, Kento thought as he looked down the long hallway.  

Seeing no other way out than that, Kento rushed out of the room and down through the hallway, searching for some way out of there.  He ran down the hallway, his eyes looking for any doorways leading out of the hallway.  He ran until he reached the end of the hallway and finally found the only door leading out of the hallway.  "Well, that was a waste of space.  All that hallway for this one door," Kento said as he looked at the single door leading out of the hallway.  With little effort, seeing as how he was the warrior of strength, Kento pushed the large door open.  

Walking through the doorway, his eyes scanned the room, looking for any signs of Lita, when his gaze settled on a body.  He slowly moved towards the body, wondering if it was Lita or not.  When the color of her armor suddenly became clear, Kento sighed with relief.  He walked over to Lita and knelt down by her, gently shaking her as if to wake her up.  

When she didn't wake up or show any signs of stirring, Kento started shaking her harder.  "Come on, Lita, wake up.  Wake up, damn you!"  Kento started to panic; she was responding to anything.  Suddenly, a rare moment of genius was bestowed upon him.  Kento put his fingers to her upper neck and felt for a pulse, finding it quickly, but it was weak.  His face taking on a mask of worry, Kento leaned over and put his ear to her mouth, listening for signs of breathing.  His eyes widened as he realized that she wasn't breathing.  Kento started to freak out, but something in his brain told him that panicking was not the best thing to do.  

_ Ok, I learned about this in Health class.  I can do this.   Kento tipped Lita's head back and started administering CPR, trying to get Lita breathing again.  As he breathed into her mouth, he started to lose hope.  __She's __not breathing.  I've lost her.  Just as Kento was about to stop, he felt Lita take in a huge gulp of air before coughing like crazy as she started breathing on her own again.  She opened her eyes to see someone right above her.  Her eyes refused to focus for a couple of seconds, so she squinted in order to get a clearer view.  "Kento?" she said as he came into focus._

"You betcha," Kento whispered, "Welcome back."

"Where did I go?" Lita asked, "What happened?"

"Well, when I found you, you weren't breathing, so I had to do CPR."  Pausing for a moment, Kento took in a deep breath before continuing.  "You almost died."  Lita's heart faltered for a minute at those words.  I almost died? Lita wondered with numb shock.  

Holding her tears back at the thought of dying, she threw her arms around Kento and hugged him tightly.  "Thank you for bringing me back," Lita said.

"Hey, I would do it for any one of my friends."  Kento winced at the word "friend".  He wanted to be so much more with Lita, but he didn't have the courage to tell her.  Little did he know that Lita had the same problem.  Pulling away from Lita a little, he said, "Can you walk?"

"I think I could if I had help."  Kento helped Lita into a standing position, one hand on her arm to make sure she didn't fall over.  Testing her ability to stand, Kento took his hand off of her arm and watched as she almost fell over.  Kento grabbed her arm again and said, "Alright, you're not walking."

"Then how am I…" Lita started to say, but was interrupted as Kento picked her up, one arm underneath her knees and the other underneath her back.  

"Kento, put me down," Lita said.

"No," Kento said resolutely, "You almost died.  You need to rest.  I'll get you out of here."  Lita only smiled as Kento walked out of the room through the only other door besides the one he came through.  If anyone can get me out of here, it's Kento, Lita thought as her experience through the last through hours finally hit her and, out of exhaustion, she passed out.

***  
Ryo opened his eyes to see a high ceiling and then immediately shut them.  He could feel the beginning of a headache coming on_.  It's a headache caused by when someone uses their power against me, I can feel it.  I've gotten enough of those to tell by now,_ Ryo thought as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.  He struggled to remember where he was and why he was there for a moment before he finally remembered about Mia.  

He sprung to his feet, his Wildfire swords in hand, and was prepared to find anyway to get to Mia.  He was about to run off down the only hallway that led out of the room he was in when a figure appeared in front of him.  She came into focus and Ryo's guard came up.  The woman was too beautiful to be trusted.  "Well, well, where do you think you're going so fast?" she said.

"It's none of your business, lady."  The woman tsked.  

"One, that's no way to talk to a woman, and two, I'm not just any ordinary lady.  I'm Queen Metallia, ruler of the Negaverse."

"And I suppose that makes you special?" Ryo growled.  

"Oh, it makes me very special, in fact.  I have power that you've never dreamed of.  Power to do anything that I want."

"Yeah, well, I don't care.  All I want is to find my friend and get out of here."

"Oh, you mean that girl, Mia of Soul.  The woman you're in love with, right?"  Ryo nodded slowly.

"Well, I'll tell you now, you don't gotta chance with her.  Did you really think you had a chance with her?  She's four years older than you.  She won't want someone as immature and unsophisticated as you.  You'll only be a burden to her.  You might as well give up on her."

"You know, for some reason, I don't believe you," Ryo said, thinking about his instincts on Mia's feelings for him.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, you kissed awhile back, right?"  Ryo nodded again.

"And then she ran away afterwards.  Why would she run away if she loved you?  Answer me that."  Ryo didn't have an answer.

"I thought so.  You think you may know what's going on, but you really don't.  Mia could never love you.  You're a fool to think otherwise."  Ryo not only didn't believe her, but, quite frankly, he was getting annoyed.  "Oh, shut up!" Ryo yelled before gathering his energy.  

Using his annoyance to spur on his anger, he called out, "FLARE UP NOW!" sending a stream of fire towards the figure, not knowing that it was a hologram and not really caring.  When the fire disappeared, Ryo was breathing heavily from the exertion, but he was happier because of it.  _It's because she's gone, Ryo thought to himself.  "Now, about finding Mia…" Ryo said as he looked down the hallway that had been behind the figure of Queen Metallia.  _

He knew he actually hadn't killed her, but something like a powerless clone.  Quickly dismissing any thoughts about Queen Metallia, Ryo concentrated on finding Mia.  Finding no other way out of the room than down the hallway, Ryo took off in a run, watching the walls of the hallway go by in a blur.  Even while running, Ryo could tell that there were no doors that he hadn't seen yet.  He ran until he reached the end of the hallway and was immediately confronted with a large door.  Shrugging slightly, he pushed the door open and walked into the room on the other side, struggling to see through the semi-obscurity.  

His eyes finally adjusted to the lack of light and once they did, he could clearly make out the shape of a body on the ground, an armored figure.  Ryo somehow knew it was Mia instantly and, putting his Wildfire swords back in their scabbards, rushed over to her.  She was unconscious and the look on her face looked drawn and exhausted, like she had been in a long, tiring struggle and had just come out of it.  Making sure that she was breathing and had a steady pulse, Ryo decided to let her stay unconscious, figuring that the sleep could do her some good.  

He smiled down at Mia, relieved to see that she was at least alive.  He scooped her up into his arms and then started looking for a way out of that room.  His eyes saw the door that he had come in through and he ignored that door, looking for another way out.  He finally spotted another door that was closed and figured that it was the best way to go for the moment.  His mind made up, he walked over to the door and pushed it open, walking into the next chamber.

***  
The Ronin Warriors looked at each other with surprise sketched all over their faces.  "What are you guys doing here?" they asked at the same time.  They were silent for a few moments before Cye said, "I guess we got the girls back, didn't we?"  

Rowen looked around the small cul-de-sac, where the 5 doors that the guys came out of met, looking at all of the guys, who were each carrying one of the Mystical Warriors, all of them armed except for Raye, who was in her sub-armor.  He nodded to himself slightly as he said to Cye, "We sure did.  Now, we can go home.  And I know how."  Setting Ami down on the floor, he gently shook her as to get her attention.  "Hey, Ami?"  She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you think you could find a portal that'll take us out of the Negaverse?  I'm not as good at doing it as you are."  Ami gave him a small smile.

"I suppose I could.  Hold on a minute."  Ami closed her eyes, while still lying down on the ground, and reached out with her power.  The group of Ronin Warriors waited in silence as Ami focused her concentration and looked for a way out of the Negaverse.  Minutes later, her eyes snapped open and she looked up at Rowen.  "I found it," she whispered weakly.

"Can you stay awake long enough for us to find it?" Rowen asked.

"I'll try.  But, once we get close enough, you'll be able to sense it.  I'm telling you that just in case I slip into unconsciousness."

"Ok, I got it," Rowen said as he picked Ami up again.  Looking at the other Ronin Warriors, he said, "Ok, let's go."  The others nodded at him and began finding a way to get out of the castle.

***  
Queen Metallia, back in her throne room, collapsed onto the ground.  A hand clutched to her throat, she struggled to regulate her breathing.  Almost simultaneously, her holograms, which were a part of her, had been destroyed with the Ronin Warriors' power.  The blows to the holograms hurt her as well, weakening her.  "Queen Metallia!" General Talpa exclaimed as he rushed to her side.  "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine Talpa.  Just give me a minute to recover my strength."

"What happened?" he asked.

"The Ronin Warriors destroyed my holograms, which I had created with my power.  Using their power against my holograms also affected me as well."

"Do you want me to get them for you?"

"No, let them escape.  There will be other times in which to hurt them, I can guarantee you that.  No need to worry, General Talpa."  Talpa backed off as Queen Metallia shakily returned to her feet and sat down on her throne.  "Now, leave me," she commanded.  Talpa gave Metallia a low bow before moving out of the throne room.  Once Talpa left, Metallia's fist came in contact with the armrest of her throne.  "The Ronin Warriors will pay for this, mark my word," she growled, vowing revenge on the Ronin Warriors for what they did.

***

"They are so dead."

"Serena, calm down.  I'm sure they're alright," Darien said, putting his arm around her as the rest of the Mystical Warriors sat in the front hall, waiting for the Ronin Warriors to return.

"Yeah, I'm sure they're alright, but they went into the Negaverse against my wishes and my orders.  I told them that we'd all go in together later today, but did they listen to me?  No, they didn't.  They ran off into the Negaverse without knowing what they were doing."

"Oh, Serena, you've got to remember that you've done things as foolish, if not more so, than the Ronin Warriors," Luna said as she curled up on Serena's lap.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Luna."

"I know she's right," Artemis chimed in as one paw scratched the area behind his ear.

"But that's still no excuse for what they did," Alex said, "They went into the Negaverse without knowing the dangers of what they were doing.  I say you're justified in your anger, Serena."

"Thank you Alex," Serena said, smiling at the warrior of the earth and sky.  The conversation disappeared as they waited for the Ronin Warriors to return home, if they would even return at all.  

After another hour of waiting, Serena was about to give up hope when she heard the sounds of metallic footprints echo throughout the house and she knew that the Ronin Warriors had returned.  Now came her chance to yell at them.  Serena stood up and strolled over to the center of the front hall, where she stood waiting.  She smiled in anticipation as she waited for the Ronin Warriors to appear in front of her.  

As she expected, the Ronin Warriors walked into the front hall, still in their armor, but with something that Serena didn't expect: the other Mystical Warriors.  Each of the Ronin Warriors was carrying one of the girls.  Serena's anger faded as she saw her friends home safe and sound.  "You got them back?" Serena said, tears in her eyes.

"Yes, we got them back," Ryo said, "Why, did you doubt us?"

"Actually, I did," Serena admitted rather sheepishly.

"Well, you didn't have to worry," Kento said, "I knew we'd get them back."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Cye said, smiling at his friend, "I seem to recall you telling me that you didn't think that you were going to get out of there alive at one point, Kento."  Kento blushed.

"Oh, yeah, well, except for that one time, I had a feeling that we'd get out."

"Hey, do you guys seem to notice that good luck always smiles down on us?" Rowen said.

"Yeah, it's like someone is watching out for us," Sage said.

"Well, whatever force that's out there that's keeping us alive and safe, that doesn't excuse that you went into the Negaverse against my orders.  I'm the leader of this team and you're supposed follow my orders."

"I don't think that really matters right now, Serena," Heather said as she pushed past Serena and stood in front of the guys.  "Could you put them down on the ground so I could check their wounds?"  The guys complied reluctantly, putting the girls down on the ground.  

Heather began checking their wounds, using her power to scan their bodies.  She healed the external wounds on all of their faces and most of the internal ones that she could, but she couldn't heal all of them.  A little weakened from healing 5 people, she stood up and said, "Well, I've healed most of the wounds I could heal.  But, there are certain wounds that I'm not going to be able to heal and that are going to have to heal on their own.  They've each suffered extreme power loss and no amount of healing is going to fix that.  They're just going to have to build up their strength own their own over time."

"Will they be alright though?" Sage asked.  Heather nodded quickly.

"Oh, yeah, they'll be alright.  They just need to rest and build their strength back up, though."

"Alright, then let's get them in bed," Serena said.

"Before you do anything, I would recommend leaving them in their sub-armor," Heather said, "It'll help them build up their strength faster."

"Well, Raye's fine the way she is," Sage said, "I'm going to take her up to her room and put her to bed.  Then I'm going to sleep myself.  I'm dead tired.  I'll see you all later."  Sage, still in his armor, picked Raye off of the ground and started to walk upstairs.  The others started to wake up the other girls, trying to get them to detransform out of their armor.  

Eventually, they succeeded in getting Mia, Lita, Ami and Mina out of their armor and into just their sub-armor.  The Ronin Warriors and the rest of the Mystical Warriors then went upstairs, putting the 4 wounded girls in bed, before disappearing off to bed themselves.


	13. Last General Standing

-Three months later, September 24th, 1999-

_Oh yes, it's Friday.  Which means I can rest this weekend, Mina thought as she made her way down the stairs slowly.  She and 4 of the other Mystical Warriors, Lita, Mia, Raye, and Ami, had been out of bed for about a month and a half after resting in bed for the month and a half before that, regaining their strength.  _

At the beginning of summer vacation, she and the other girls had been captured by Queen Metallia so she could get the Silver Crystal.  The Ronin Warriors, in a valiant move, came into the Negaverse against Serena's orders and rescued them, saving Serena from having to trade the Silver Crystal for the girls' lives.  

But, before the Ronin Warriors could rescue the girls, the girls were tortured by Metallia's generals to the point of power loss.  That's what took the girls so long to recover.  They had to regain their power, a wound that not even Heather could heal.  So, Mina, Raye, Lita, Ami, and Mia had to let their power come back over time. It finally came back, slowly however, and now, three months later, the 5 girls were only a little weak.  

Like now.  Mina knew that she still hadn't fully recovered from her ordeal.  Otherwise, she'd be running down the stairs, not creeping down them.  She reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs, stopping on the second floor to catch her breath.  

After catching her breath, she brushed off her uniform skirt and was about to continue walking down the stairs when she heard her name called.  She turned towards the direction of the sound and smiled as she saw Cye approaching her, her hero, literally.  He had rescued her from the Negaverse.  Without him, she might still be there.  Or dead.  "Hey Cye, are you ready to go downstairs?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am.  How are you feeling?" Cye asked while putting on his school blazer.

"I'm feeling better.  I'm a little weak this morning, though."

"Do you need help getting down the stairs?" Cye asked.

"No, but it would be nice if you walked down with me."

"No problem," Cye said.

"Thanks," Mina sighed, "I hope you don't mind going a little slow.  I have a hard time walking down stairs."  Cye looked over at her and said, "How about I just help you down the stairs."

"And how would you do that?" she asked.  Cye smiled and said, "Like this."  Closing the gap between them, he scooped her into his arms and began carrying her down the stairs.  Although Mina was weak, she wasn't weak enough to protest.  "Cye, put me down!  I can walk by myself.  I don't need you to carry me."

"But, I want to walk down with you, but I'm hungry.  So, this way, I can get down to the kitchen quickly and go down with you at the same time," Cye said as they reached the first floor.  

Rushing down the last couple of stairs, he set her down on the ground and said, "Do you think you can take it from here?" he teased.  Mina mock-glared at him before saying, "Yes, I can," though she wished that Cye would carry her the rest of the way so she could be in his arms.  "Well, then, let's go to breakfast," Cye said and the two of them started to walk towards the kitchen.

***  
In the kitchen, Lita was trying to cook breakfast, but there were too many people in the kitchen for her to maneuver correctly.  Her anger getting the best of her, she yelled, "Alright, if any of you want breakfast, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN!"  Suddenly, she found herself being stared at by 13 pairs of eyes; everyone was in the kitchen except for Mina and Cye.  "Alright, we'll go out to the dining room to wait for breakfast, ok?" Serena said, trying to avoid getting her friend even angrier.  Lita took in a deep breath to calm herself down and looked at Serena.  "Thanks Serena."

"No problem.  Come on, you guys, let's go into the dining room."  Everyone grumbled, but left the kitchen.  Once the noise ended, the only people in the kitchen were Lita and Kento, who was there to make sure Lita was ok.  Walking over to her, he said, "Are you feeling ok this morning?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired still, that's all," Lita said as Kento moved behind her and began giving her a back massage to help her relax.  Lita moaned softly at the feeling of her muscles relaxing and said, "I love it when you do that, you're so good at it."

"Well, it's just to get you to relax, that's all."

"It works, I can tell you that," Lita said as she reveled in the feeling of Kento's fingers working the knots out of her back.

"It's what I'm here for," Kento said as he used one of his hands to brush a few strands of hair away from her neck so he could massage the muscles there.  Lita slightly missed the presence of her hair at the back of her neck, but liked it in the French twist that Kento had done for her earlier that morning.  

Although Lita loved it when Kento gave her back massages, she knew that she needed to work on making breakfast or they were all going to be late.  "Kento, as much as I love your back massages, I need to make breakfast or we aren't going to have time to eat before we have to go to school."  Kento removed his hand from her back and said, "Do you want help making breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What do you want me to do?" Kento asked, ready to do anything to help Lita, especially since she was still slightly recovering from her ordeal in the Negaverse.

"You could be a dear and start making and buttering toast while I concentrate on the business over the stove.  Could you also put the orange juice and milk out on the table so the others can serve themselves their drinks?"

"Yeah, no problem."  Lita smiled at Kento and said her thanks before turning to start making breakfast.  Kento gave Lita one last smile before turning to do the tasks that Lita gave him in helping prepare breakfast.

***  
After breakfast, the group started out to their respective schools.  Alex, Michelle, Darien, and Mia went of to Tokyo University, Celia went off to work, and the rest of them went off to high school, all of them in their junior year of high school except for Heather, who was in her sophomore year.  The year before, Heather had completed her 8th grade year and freshman year of school in the same year at her old school, so now, she could go to school with most everyone else.  At school, she was respected and even had a few friends, unlike her last school.  

They all walked to school with relative ease, considering that 4 of them didn't have all of their strength back.  When they got to school, they separated and went off to their respective classes.  Most of them shared classes with each other with the exception of Ami and Rowen, who were in the honors program at their school and were the top two students in the school.  Which one of them was in the top of their school differed all the time, but Ami and Rowen were always in the top two.  

At that moment, the two of them were walking off to calculus together, one of the many classes they shared.  The two of them had the exact same schedule, which was because there was only one honors program for the junior class and the two of them were in it.  As they neared their class, Rowen turned to Ami and said, "Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Well, on what basis are you talking about?  In general, yes I'm feeling better, but, on a day-to-day basis, I'm feeling a little worse than I did yesterday.  I don't think we should have stayed up as late as we did last night working on our physics homework."

"No, we finished that at a reasonable hour.  The reason why both of us are tired is because we stayed up talking for an extra hour last night," Rowen pointed out.

"You have a good point there, Rowen," Ami said as they walked into their calculus class.  They were early by 5 minutes, but they were still the last two to arrive besides the teacher.  "Well, tonight, we should go to bed earlier," Ami said.

"Why, tonight's a Friday night, Ami.  We can't go to bed early.  Besides, we have to mediate the late night training sessions between Sage and Kento, otherwise they'll kill each other."  

The two of them took their seats in the front of the class, ignoring everyone behind them as per usual, but everyone in their classes was used to that.  They knew that Ami and Rowen lived in the same house with Sage, Kento, Cye, Ryo, Serena, Raye, Lita, and Mina.  They had gotten used to the weird conversations that the two of them had when they first walked into class in the morning.  

Just as Ami and Rowen sat down, the teacher, a tall woman in her early thirties, walked into the room and everyone settled down as they waited for class to begin.

***  
The morning periods flew by and before everyone knew it, it was time for lunch.  "Come on, they're going to wonder where we are," Raye said as she tried to hurry Sage.

"Raye, they know where we are.  They know that our class before lunch is all the way on the other side of the school from where we eat lunch.  But, on a good note, I see you're feeling better today, Raye."

"Yeah, I am feeling a little better today.  I had a hard time doing PE this morning, but, other than that, I was fine.  Every day, I feel a little stronger," Raye said as she beamed at Sage.  Sage smiled back, happy to see that she was feeling better.  

When she was recovering, Sage had been worried about her because he couldn't do anything to make her feel better.  But, he stayed with her for most of the day when she was in bed, as the other guys did with the girl that they liked.  Sage smiled at the period in time.  A few good things came out of it.  One was that whenever the girls used their power, they seemed to have more of it, like they had more power reserves that came from not using their power for so long.  

The other good thing that came out of it was, besides the fact that the Ronin Warriors were closer to the Mystical Warriors, Ryo and Mia seemed to be back on the same foot, so to speak, as in they were actually getting along and they were talking again.  Sage never found out what happened between the two, but he didn't care anymore because two of his best friends were now talking to each other regularly again.  

Sage pulled his thoughts away from three months ago and concentrated on the present.  He listened quietly as Raye gave him a recap of what had happened to her throughout the morning.  Then, Raye said something that caught his attention.  "What was that?" he asked her.

"I said that Craig Goldsmith asked me out this morning.  I automatically turned him down.  I wouldn't go out with him if he were the last person on earth.  I don't care if he's the most popular guy in school with the exception of you and the other Ronin Warriors."  Sage nodded at Raye; she had a good point.  

In the last year that the guys had been there, they had been the most popular guys in school, but essentially untouchable, except for Mina, Ami, Raye, Lita, and Serena, who lived with them.  It bothered the girls they went to school with to the point of insanity for a while, but, now, for the most part, most of the girls they went to school with had learned about the attractions that existed between the members of that untouchable group of 10.  A few guys in school had tried to ask out the girls, but were immediately rejected.  None of them even had a chance.  

Raye and Sage walked through the hallways of their school, finally exiting the school and entering the courtyard where the immediately spotted the others.  "Over here!" Serena yelled as she spotted them.  Raye and Sage only smiled at each other before walking over to their friends.

***  
After lunch, the rest of school went by with ease.  When school ended, the group of 11 warriors met in the front of the school, as they always did, before walking home from school together, making small talk along the way.  "So, Heather, how was school?" Rowen asked the younger girl as the group prepared to take a short cut through the park.  Since Heather was a sophomore, she didn't see any of the others as often as they saw each other.

"Oh, it was fine.  I got an A on my biology test," she said proudly.  Rowen held out his hand, expecting a high five, which Heather gave.

"Alright," Rowen said, "And who helped you study for that test?" Rowen casually reminded.  Heather rolled her eyes and said, "You did, Rowen.  Thank you."

"No problem."  They walked in peace for a few more moments before Serena felt an evil presence approaching.  "You guys, stop.  I think something is coming."  As if on cue, a wide portal opened up in front of them and what came spilling out of it were hundreds of hybrids, ready to try and destroy the Mystical and Ronin Warriors.  "Well, well, looks like we get to fight," Lita said.  Serena whipped around and looked at Lita.  "You are not fighting," she said.

"And why not?" Lita asked.

"Because you don't have your strength back yet."

"It's almost all the way back and I feel fine," Lita said.  She turned around and looked at the other girls.  "Do you guys feel fine?" she asked.  She got three nods in affirmation.  Turning back to Serena, she said, "See?  We feel fine.  We can take care of ourselves and we're going to help you in this fight."  

Serena finally gave in and said, "Fine, but if you get hurt, I can't say I didn't warn you."  Serena dropped her book bag on the ground as she cried out her transformation line.  "Power of the Moonlight!  I call upon the armor of the Moonlight!  Armor of the Moonlight, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Artic!  I call upon the armor of the Artic!  Armor of the Artic, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Phoenix!  I call upon the armor of the Phoenix!  Armor of the Phoenix, TO ARMS!"

"Power of Lightning!  I call upon the armor of Lightning!  Armor of Lightning, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Heavens!  I call upon the armor of the Heavens!  Armor of the Heavens, TO ARMS!"

"Power of the Gods!  I call upon the armor of the Gods!  Armor of the Gods, TO ARMS!"

"Armor of Wildfire, DAO JIN!"

"Armor of Halo, DAO CHI!"

"Armor of Torrent, DAO SHIN!"

"Armor of Hardrock, DAO GI!"

"Armor of Strata, DAO INOCHI!"  Within seconds, the Mystical Warriors appeared along side the Ronin Warriors, all of them ready to fight to the end.  Kento, and his impatience, started off the battle with his attack.  "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"  From his attack, rocks and boulders were unearthed and, mixed with Kento's raw power, came crashing down upon the hybrids, destroying a good number of them.  The other warriors joined in with their own attacks, quickly destroying the hybrids.  

Over a year of fighting with each other had turned them all into a well-oiled fighting team, almost undefeatable.  After the last of the hybrids had been destroyed, the power from all of the attacks had faded and the air settled around them.  The humming noise from all the power used disappeared and once everything was silent, the group of 11 warriors could hear the sounds of clapping coming from behind.  

They all whipped around to see Talpa, floating in the air, looking down at them with a sneer on his face.  "Talpa," Ryo said through gritted teeth, announcing Talpa for him.

"Yes, it is I, General Talpa," the dark-haired general said with flair. 

"What do you want?" Raye asked.

"I want one thing and one thing only," Talpa answered.

"If what you want is the Silver Crystal, you better go home because you're not getting it," Serena yelled.

"My dear, I don't want your little crystal."

"Then what do you want?" Serena asked, confused.  Enemies never showed up in person unless they were going after the Silver Crystal.  

"I want a fight.  All you against me."

"Are you sure you're up to the challenge?" Lita asked.

"Oh, I'm more than ready to fight you.  Do you accept?" Talpa asked.  The group of warriors looked at each other, giving each other confirming looks and then Serena turned back to look at Talpa.  "Yes, we accept," Serena said.

"Not without us, you don't."

**********

Hi all!  Thank you so much for the reviews!  I feel so loved! : P  To CTRNikkiM, I'm glad you like the Ami/Rowen pairing.  That's Chica's fave pairing as well!  And to thescientist, don't worry, there's much more Raye/Sage coming in the next book.  I'm trying to take it easy and update not too frequently, because I want to space things so that we don't suddenly get to an end (we're finishing book 5 right now) and leave you waiting for more.  However, my patience is non-existent.  : P   Lucky you!  Anyway, here's the last and second last chapters of book 2 now!  This may be the last update for a little bit (a few days) as I have two papers due this week alongside a mountain of homework.  College is evil sometimes!  Anyway, enjoy!  ~DestinyBabe


	14. A Battle to the End

-Same Day, September 24th, 1999-

"Yes, we accept," Serena said.

"Not without us, you don't."  The 11 warriors turned to see the rest of the Mystical Warriors.  Alex, who was standing in front, was the person who had just spoken.

"Oh, so are you going to fight me too?" Talpa asked.  Alex only smiled before taking her daggers, preparing for her attack, and charging Talpa, who had just landed his feet on the ground.  Alex got about 15 feet away before yelling out her attack.  "EARTH QUAKE…"  She was rudely interrupted when Talpa held out his hand, creating an energy wall, that Alex didn't notice until it was too late.  

She ran right into it and the wall blasted her, sending her back about 20 feet.  She flew through the air before she landed on the ground.  Michelle, who had been watching the entire time, was enraged that her soulmate had been hit by the blast.  Her face contorting into a mask of anger and determination, she stepped forward and prepared her attack.  "ROARING HURRICANE BLAST!" she cried out as she sent a stream of water and power towards Talpa.  

He deftly dodged Michelle's attack by transporting himself a few feet out of the line of fire before holding his hand out again, sending an energy beam straight for Michelle.  Just powering down, Michelle had no time to get out of the way.  She was hit by the energy beam and was sent crashing into a nearby tree, effectively being knocked out.  

Ryo was pissed off.  He was mad in general.  And all his anger was focused on Talpa for a couple of different reasons.  One was for being responsible for Mia's torturing when she was in the Negaverse, another was for hurting Alex and Michelle, and the other was for not staying dead.  Turning around to face the other Ronin Warriors, he said, "Alright you guys, let's do this."  The other guys knew what he was talking about.  They all looked at Ryo and nodded.  Ryo turned back around and said, "Talpa, you're going to pay for everything that you've done."  Talpa only laughed and said, "Ryo of Wildfire, you don't know what you're going up against.  I have so much more power than I did before.  Working for Queen Metallia has paid off."

"Well, not for long it's not," Ryo said before calling out, "FLARE UP NOW!" sending a stream of fire towards his enemy of the past and present.  The other Ronin Warriors followed with their attacks.  "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!"

"ARROW SHOCKWAVE!"

"THUNDERBOLT CUT!"

"IRON ROCK CRUSHER!"  The 5 combined attacks made their way for Talpa, who was standing there with a calm and unworried look on his face.  He had his head bent and his eyes closed, like he had a secret that he was about to reveal.  He lifted his head and opened his eyes, which started to glow with a bright light.  

Almost immediately, a shield came up and deflected the attacks, sending them back towards the Ronin Warriors, who collapsed on the ground from the force of the attacks.  Talpa laughed as the Ronins' own attacks wounded them and took great pride in being the person who caused them pain.  

He was so wrapped up in his glory that he failed to notice the attack coming at him from behind.  "MOONLIGHT VANQUISH!" Serena cried out as a bolt of light in the shape of a crescent moon made its for Talpa.  Talpa, who wasn't expecting it, had let his guard down and was suddenly hit by the attack.  He faltered for a moment, which gave the other girls time to use their attacks on him without worry of him deflecting them.  "FIREBIRD FLARE!"

"LIGHTNING SWORD STRIKE!"

"RAGING ICE STORM FREEZE!"

"BEAUTY SHOCKWAVE!"

"LIFE AND DEATH STRIKE!"  Talpa, who wasn't ready to protect himself yet, was bombarded by the 5 attacks and fell to the ground.  "Alright Talpa, I've had enough of your games.  It's time for you to die," Serena said before closing her eyes.  Taking in a deep breath, she cried out, "I call upon the armor of the Cosmos!  Armor of the Cosmos, TO ARMS!"  The other girls bit their tongues to keep from crying out in pain as their power left them and went to Serena.  

Her white and silver armor disappeared, being replaced by gold and silver armor, the symbol on her chest was a nine-pointed star, and on her back were white, metal wings.  Sticking her staff in the ground, her hands hovered over the crystal, drawing the crystal out of its place in her staff with her power.  She lifted her hands above her head, the crystal still floating between them, and light started to gather in the crystal.  When the power in the Silver Crystal reached its pinnacle, Serena called out, "SUPERNOVA STRIKE!" and the light in the crystal exploded, creating a shockwave that destroyed everything evil in its path.  

When the light faded, Talpa was lying on the ground, his breathing shallow.  Serena let the armor of the Cosmos dissolve and the power from it return its original owners.  With his energy as gone as it was, Talpa had no power to stand up to the next attack.  Mia and Darien knew that their time had come and, with giving each other a look, prepared to do their attack.  Turning towards each other, they pointed their swords towards the ground and crossed the blades.  

Closing their eyes, they said in perfect synchrony, "Oh great guardian of Death, open wide the Gates of Hell to receive this evil spirit.  ETERNAL SOUL TORMENT!"  A murky, greenish light surrounded Talpa, who was lying on the ground, not having enough energy to defend himself.  As the attack started taking affect, Talpa unleashed a guttural yell as he withered in pain, a pain that came from having his life and soul sucked out of his body.  

The screaming stopped and when the light faded, there was nothing left of Talpa but his skeleton.  Raye stepped forward and said, "Now, to get rid of these bones."  Raye walked over to the skeletal remains and held her hands over the bones, letting her power flow from her fingertips in the form of fire, turning the bones to ash.  Raye, once she was satisfied that Talpa's bones had dissolved enough, turned to go over to Sage, who was on the ground.  "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, once I get a good night's sleep, I'll be fine.  Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Raye said with a smile on her face.

"Well, that's good."  Raye only chuckled a little as she put Sage's arm around her shoulder and helped him up off of the ground.  She looked around and saw the other Ronin Warriors being led over to a huge tree, the same one that Michelle had crashed into, and set down underneath the tree so Heather could look at their wounds, if there were any.  

Raye started to lead Sage over to the same tree when she heard noises behind her, like the sounds of something hitting the ground.  "Oh my God," two voices chimed in shock and the Universal Warriors turned around to see who was behind them…

*****

And on that somewhat suspenseful note . . . I'm proud to say – THE END – of book two that is.  Keep tuned in for more as the Universal Warriors meet some new allies from a different realm and finally take on Metallia in Book Three:  Fate and Destiny Make the Scene!

On that note, the more you guys review, the more it psyches me (DestinyBabe) up to update.  Just a little friendly hint :)  

~ Cheers, DestinyBabe and FateChica


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